Francis Ngannou weighs almost two stone more than Anthony Joshua as ripped heavyweights share final face-off

07/03/2024 18:07

Francis Ngannou will take a massive weight advantage into his fight with Anthony Joshua.

The former UFC heavyweight champion hit the scales at 272.6lb [19.6 stone] on Thursday afternoon before sharing a final face-off with Joshua ahead of their ‘Knockout Chaos’ fight in 24 hours time.

AJ came in at 252.4lbs [18 stone] for his 31st professional fight and took part in an intense staredown with Ngannou, who is feeling confident ahead of his second boxing bout.

“I've learnt a little bit from the last fight, the last camp, and leading up to this one,” he told Ariel Helwani.

“So, I get a little bit of experience, but the mindset is still the same.

“This is just my second boxing match, even though I'm taking on the two best guys in the world in boxing, it's still my second boxing match.

“I'm going out there to prove you can be an underdog and take it.”

‘The Predator’ explained why he was smiling during his face-off with AJ, who he thinks would stand no chance if they fought under MMA rules.

Ngannou added: “Sometimes it just makes me laugh a little bit because we are going to fight in boxing rules, but what would happen if it was just a free fight under MMA rules?

“I would smoke this guy [laughs]. I'm the only one to go in their backyard, none of them can come in my backyard. I would take two of them at once.”

Joshua was a lot less talkative, but he dodged questions with a smile on his face before calling himself ‘The Postman’ and promising to deliver against Ngannou.

The winner of Joshua vs Ngannou could fight for all the heavyweight marbles in the next 12 months.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet in a historic four-belt undisputed fight on May 18 before potentially booking a rematch later this year.

Eventually, one of them will face either Joshua or Ngannou in a boxing blockbuster.