Jokes aside: Joshua knocked out Ngannou in the second round, Kurbanov lost to Madrimov at a show in Riyadh

The boxing evening in Riyadh was supposed to answer the main question - was Francis Ngannou’s successful performance in a fight with Tyson Fury an accident or could the ex-UFC champion really make a splash in his new sport.

In October, the Cameroonian shocked the world of martial arts when he worked all ten rounds on equal terms with the Briton, and in one of them even sent him to the canvas.

But if then this could be attributed to the poor form of the Gypsy King and underestimation, then Anthony Joshua could not have such excuses.

Unlike his compatriot, he was well aware of his opponent’s abilities and had to dot all the i’s in the matter of his professional suitability.

However, the show in Saudi Arabia attracted boxing fans not only because of the fight between Joshua and Ngannou.

After all, within the framework of it, two duels for the world champion titles were planned, as well as a battle for the interim heavyweight belt between Zhang Zhilei and Joseph Parker, who defeated Deontay Wilder himself in December.

But Russian fans were especially interested in the fight involving Magomed Kurbanov, who was preparing to fight Israil Madrimov for the vacant WBA junior middleweight trophy.

It was extremely difficult to pick a favorite in this confrontation.

Both had no defeats on their record, but they were also united by the fact that both had recently crossed paths with the notorious Michel Soro.

And if Kurbanov, albeit with a controversial decision, won, then he spoiled Madrimov’s record.

In the first fight, the Uzbek fighter won by knockout in the ninth round, and the second was declared a draw.

In the third segment, the Frenchman suffered a cut due to an unintentional collision of heads, which is why he was unable to continue fighting.

Of course, we should have expected Kurbanov to work as number two, because he had fought his previous fights in this style.

But this time the Russian clearly went too far and focused too much on defense.

He immediately gave the center of the ring to Madrimov, but it was not possible to catch his opponent in oncoming movement as often as he would like.

Israil put a lot of pressure on and often found gaps in the opponent’s defense.

He was especially good at attacking at the second pace, when Magomed briefly froze in place in half position.

Obviously, Kurbanov hoped to wear down Madrimov and cope with a tired opponent in the later rounds, so he did not force the course of the fight.

And with a high degree of probability I lost with a clean sheet on the judges’ cards on the eve of the fifth segment.

But at that moment, Israil increased the pace even more and hit Magomed in the head several times.

And although he did not show it and invited his opponent to continue the attack, his condition caused concern not only among the fans, but also among the referee.

And when the Uzbek fighter again pressed the Russian against the ropes and began to deliver one blow after another, he hastened to intervene.

And judging by the reaction of the domestic athlete, he was absolutely right.

He was clearly not ready to continue fighting.

In turn, in the confrontation for the WBC world featherweight title, the strongest was never identified.

In the eighth and 11th rounds, Rey Vargas was knocked down once and lost his victory over Nick Ball.

Nevertheless, he managed to keep the belt, because in the event of a draw, it does not change owner.

Zhilei and Parker also covered the entire distance, although the New Zealander was knocked down in the third and eighth segments.

But he managed to miraculously recover and not only force the fight, but also prevail by decision of the majority of judges, taking away the title of interim WBO world champion from the Chinese.

After this, it was the turn to sort out the relationship between Joshua and Ngannou.

And it was extremely curious what tactics the Briton would choose for the battle, who showed 114.49 kg on the scales - nine less than the enemy.

It was logical to expect that he would not risk cutting and would methodically “fire” at the Cameroonian from a distance.

But this was at odds with his statements before the show, in which he promised to beat up the former UFC star.

And he began to answer for his words from the very first minutes.

Joshua actively applied pressure and was not afraid to engage in exchanges with one of the most fearsome knockout artists in the history of mixed martial arts.

And already at the end of the first round he demonstrated the difference between a professional boxer and, albeit a top, MMA striker.

The right straight hit the head and sent Ngannou to the canvas.

However, the Cameroonian got up and even survived until the break.

True, only to survive an even more brutal beating in the second segment.

For a minute and a half, Joshua masterfully pulled Ngannou apart, and then shook him again with a crushing right hand.

The selfless Cameroonian miraculously got up again and walked forward, but after a few seconds he “flew away” into a dull knockout.

The referee did not open the scoring.

Francis could not come to his senses for a long time, and when he was finally able to reach his corner, he was forced to use an oxygen mask.

Joshua knocked out Ngannou and inflicted his second defeat in his boxing career.

And once again he confirmed the theory that mixed martial arts fighters should not get involved in an adventure and try their hand at battles with professional boxers.

And ironically, all this happened in front of an astonished Fury, who watched the battle from the front row.

And Anthony did not miss the opportunity to mock his compatriot, recalling his far from confident victory over Francis.