'False confidence': Dillian Whyte says Francis Ngannou was complacent for Anthony Joshua fight

13/03/2024 20:16

Dillian Whyte believes Francis Ngannou got too comfortable following his fight against Tyson Fury.

Francis Ngannou got far too comfortable and complacent with himself leading into his fight against Anthony Joshua, so says Dillian Whyte. Speaking to Sky Sports, Whyte reacted to Ngannou's knockout loss and comments that Ngannou didn't take Joshua as seriously as he needed to based upon how he performed against Tyson Fury.

"I think that fight gave him false confidence to the point where, when he was getting hammered with big punches, he stayed in the pocket and he wasn't trying to move his head or hold or anything," Whyte said. "He went down, stood up in the same place. Didn't move his head, went down, stood up in the same place and basically waited for the third right hand."

The end result wasn't surprising for Whyte, who says he knew all along that Joshua would handle business based upon his experience and power. And to the end Whyte believes he would've done the same to Ngannou, as he had previously attempted to get that fight.

"I tried to fight Ngannou four years ago," he said. "I would have definitely knocked him out. I said I would fight him in boxing and MMA. I always believed I could knock him out because the boxing ability isn't there."

Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs) is currently scheduled to take on Christian Hammer this weekend in Castlebar, Ireland and says he's excited for both the fight and the opportunities that will be there for him afterwards. Whyte still has world title aspirations and looks to get his name back in the mix with the top-tier heavyweights.