Home » Boxing legend Hatton picks Joshua over Ngannou

Boxing legend Hatton picks Joshua over Ngannou

Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is putting his money on former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua over former MMA veteran Francis Ngannou.

The Joshua-Ngannou fight will take place on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A fluke performance?

Ngannou impressed the boxing world during his professional debut against WBC champion Tyson Fury. The MMA veteran gave Fury a run for his money, and even decked him in the third round.

“Gypsy King” eventually escaped with a ten-round split decision win.

However, Joshua, 34, is a different beast, as he recently came off a five-round KO victory against Otto Wallin in December.

Hatton is unsure if Ngannou’s performance was legitimate or if it was just a case of Fury taking his opponent lightly.

“We’re in limbo aren’t we – was Ngannou better than we gave him credit for, or did Tyson take Ngannou lightly? Did Tyson not train as hard as he could and that’s why Ngannou looked as good as he did?” Hatton told Instant Casino.

“There’s a big question mark around Ngannou. We all know he can hit, but was it because Tyson took him lightly? All these questions no one is sure about yet. Tyson didn’t physically look as good as he normally does. And he’s also had those three fights with Wilder that may have taken something out of him.”

Nonetheless, Hatton will be rooting for his fellow English fighter.

“If you’re asking where my money would go, it would go on AJ (Joshua) because he’s an exceptional boxer. You don’t become an Olympic gold medalist and a two-time world champion for nothing. He doesn’t have the lateral movement of Tyson Fury, so he’s going to be standing in front of Francis Ngannou, which worries me a little bit because if AJ does cop one, that could be that.”

“But I’m going to go with AJ based on his confidence and his new team. I think he’ll have enough firepower to shine against Ngannou.”