Anthony Joshua was well compensated for his second-round knockout victory over Cameroonian boxer Francis Ngannou in the main event of the “Knockout Chaos” event in Saudi Arabia early on Saturday morning (Nigerian time).
Joshua achieved his fourth consecutive win with the knockout triumph over Ngannou in Riyadh.
After earning back-to-back victories in 2023 against Jermaine Franklin in April and Robert Helenius with a seventh-round knockout in August, Joshua achieved a fifth-round technical knockout victory over Otto Wallin in December, who was anticipated to be a tough opponent, particularly with his southpaw stance.
Joshua has now secured knockout victories over two fighters who both took Tyson Fury to the distance in Wallin and Ngannou.
The British-Nigerian was originally set to receive $40 million (N63.7 billion) for the fight, but due to his knockout win, Joshua received an additional $10 million (N15.9 billion), making a total of $50 million (N79 billion), while Ngannou pocketed $20 million (N31.8 billion).
Famous musician, Drake, who is known for placing large bets on high-profile sports games and losing most of those wagers, was once again on the losing side after Joshua defeated former UFC champion Ngannou as the Grammy winner lost a $615,000 (N950 million).
If the bet had been successful, the Canadian-born rapper would have won just under $2 million (N3.1 billion).
Drake has gained a reputation as a jinx to athletes, as when he bets on them, most of them end up losing. Therefore, athletes prefer he doesn’t wager on them and celebrate loudly when they manage to win despite his bets, as Israel Adesanya did when he defeated Pereira in 2023.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury praised Joshua after his victory over Ngannou, with Joshua also expressing willingness to face the Brit following the undisputed fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury, who watched the fight, said he has a ‘bigger fish to fry’ in Usyk and stated that he is available to face Joshua after his rematch in October.
“Me and Usyk have an undisputed world heavyweight championship coming up. He (Joshua) just had a show fight in Saudi Arabia, which is fantastic for the show, but for the actual real boxing, it is me and Usyk who fight for the number one and number two positions for the undisputed championship of the world,” Fury said.
“So that (the fight with AJ) is on the back burner for now. Great performance from AJ, fantastic, but unfortunately I have got bigger fish to fry in Usyk on May 18, and then we have a rematch in October. So, after that, if he is still available and I’m still available, let’s get it on.”
Fury is set to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in a historic, undisputed showdown, with the winner potentially facing Joshua in the future.
During the post-match conference, Joshua expressed his readiness to battle the winner of Fury vs Usyk for a shot at reclaiming the world heavyweight titles.
“I just want to fight… and the next fight I want is the winner of Fury vs Usyk,” he said.Anthony Joshua was well rewarded for his second-round knockout win over Cameroonian boxer Francis Ngannou in the main event of the “Knockout Chaos” card in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Saturday morning (Nigerian time). Joshua won his fourth straight fight with the KO victory over Ngannou in Riyadh. After securing consecutive victories in […]
