Michael Bisping explains why Anthony Joshua deserves “a lot of respect” for accepting boxing match with Francis Ngannou: “Doesn’t really gain anything with a win”

By Susan Cox - January 12, 2024

Michael Bisping is explaining why Anthony Joshua deserves ‘a lot of respect’ for accepting a boxing match with Francis Ngannou.

Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua (27 wins – 3 losses) will meet Francis Ngannou (0 wins – 1 loss) in a 10-round heavyweight boxing match on Friday, March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua is coming off a victory over Otto Wallin this past December (see that here).

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou, in his boxing debut last October, suffered a controversial split decision loss to WCB champion Tyson Fury.

Michael Bisping, speaking on his ‘Believe You Me’ podcast shared his thoughts on the upcoming bout between Joshua and Ngannou:

“AJ does deserve a lot of respect here. He has no need to box Francis Ngannou, doesn’t really gain anything with a win other than solidifying another victory then being 4-0 in his last four and probably will get the winner of Usyk and Tyson Fury. But he probably would have got that anyway. I think this is happening because Deontay Wilder was probably the guy in the mix, they thought he would beat Joseph Parker, and he didn’t.”

Continuing ‘The Count’ shared:

“I think for Francis Ngannou, it’s great. For him, there’s been a lot of questions answered. Can he compete with these boxers? Can he even land a glove? Can he take a shot from these guys? Does he have the stamina to go 10, 12 rounds? Does he have the ability to maintain the power throughout that kind of period, as well?”

Michael Bisping

Concluding the 44-year-old Michael Bisping said (h/t MMAJunkie):

“These were all questions. These were all unknowns. Well, the answer to all those questions were yes, we saw that when he fought Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury, even though he swears blind that he did train for that fight, physically he looked terrible. He looked awful, he looked sloppy, his technique was crap. He still beat Francis Ngannou.”

Are you looking forward to seeing Ngannou vs. Joshua in the boxing ring? Any predictions?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!


Topics:

Anthony Joshua Francis Ngannou Michael Bisping UFC