Anthony Joshua fans point out key detail that proves Francis Ngannou fight can’t have been staged

Everyone is talking about how Anthony Joshua sent Francis Ngannou crashing into the canvas, but not everyone is convinced that it was down to the power of his fists.

The Brit boxer, 34, floored the MMA star twice before ensuring he wouldn't get back up by delivering a powerful knockout in the second round.

Ngannou, 37, was sent tumbling after Joshua landed a nasty right hand to his jaw, seeing him collapse onto the canvas as his legs buckled and the fight was stopped as medics rushed to check on him.

The champ respectfully waited until it was confirmed that the UFC legend was okay before he celebrated the win in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last night (8 March).

The triumph, which takes Joshua's boxing record to an impressive 28-3-0 with a mega 25 wins by KO, was a lot more clear cut than when Tyson Fury fought Ngannou back in October.

The Gypsy King was controversially given the win via split decision, despite the Cameroonian fighter knocking him down.

However, there are still plenty of naysayers who speculated that Joshua's jabs were choreographed - especially after fans thought that the script for the clash 'had been leaked' earlier this week.

Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Although it turned out that the video of the pair throwing punches in the ring and falling back onto crash mats was simply for a DAZN trailer to promote the fight, some people still remain skeptical about how authentic the boxing match was.

Rapper Drake was probably left muttering the words 'staged' under his breath too, seen as though he'd just lost a huge amount of cash after putting his money on Ngannou.

But fans of Joshua have leapt to his defence on social media, insisting that there is a key detail in the footage of the knockout which proves the fight was not fixed.

Richard Pelham/Getty Images

One said: "Anthony Joshua sent Francis Ngannou to sleep with a hammer punch and you think it was staged instead of congratulating him? Very few fighters can stand this punch."

Another wrote: "Anthony Joshua folded Francis Ngannou like Origami."

A third added: "Ngannou felt his soul leave his body bro! You can’t call this one staged. Joshua meant business."

A fourth added: "I honestly do not know why some people said that the match was fixed. Joshua Ngannou was open throughout the match, and did a little to nothing to protect himself from Anthony Joshuas’ punches.

"I do not really blame him. He is not a pro boxer."

And a fifth chimed in: "Staged you say?? Bro wasn't f***ng around."

Ngannou, who described his defeat as a 'bad day at the office' in a post on X, only launched his professional boxing career following his departure from the UFC in January 2023.

Joshua seems to see a lot of potential in the star though, as following the match he went over and told him: "Don't leave boxing!"