Daniel Cormier detailed why he believes Francis Ngannou can defeat Anthony Joshua in their upcoming boxing match.
In late October 2023, Ngannou redefined what life outside of the UFC can be for MMA fighters when he fought Tyson Fury in a ten-round boxing match. The former UFC heavyweight champion secured a life-changing payday and knocked down Fury in a fight he arguably deserved to get his hand raised.
Nonetheless, Ngannou’s shocking performance solidified himself as one of the biggest heavyweight boxing superstars on the planet. As a result, he is scheduled to fight Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
‘The Predator’ has once again opened as a sizeable betting underdog. With that said, Daniel Cormier and other fight analysts believe Ngannou has a clearer path to victory than he did heading into the Fury fight.
During a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Cormier had this to say about a potential gameplan for Ngannou:
“For [Ngannou] to win, he’s got to do what he did last time, but he has to be a little bit more ferocious in his approach because I really do believe that if he approaches this fight with bad intent, and he goes out there and he’s swinging, he’s a little bit reckless, I believe he will make Joshua fight in such a way that it’ll limit all of these skills that he’s built over a lifetime.”
Cormier followed up by explaining why he believes Ngannou will defeat Joshua:
“[Ngannou] needs to intimidate him with size and in what he did the last time. That’s where Francis holds advantages because while these guys have boxed their whole life, Francis is not throwing his punches in the same ways that they’re used to seeing their whole life. I don’t know. You ask me this six months ago, I’d have said no chance. You ask me today, I think Francis has a chance, and I think Francis is gonna get it done.”
Watch Cormier discuss Joshua vs. Ngannou below:
Daniel Cormier believes Francis Ngannou is being overlooked again by the betting oddsmakers
According to Bovada, Francis Ngannou is a +350 betting underdog against Anthony Joshua, while the latter as a -525 favorite. Therefore, the oddsmakers are giving Ngannou more respect than his fight against Tyson Fury, but they still don’t expect him to win.
During the previously mentioned YouTube video, Daniel Cormier reacted to the current betting odds for Joshua vs. Ngannou by saying:
“I do think it’s going to be a better, more manageable fight for Francis Ngannou because of the way Anthony Joshua approaches fights. Anthony Joshua does not want to get knocked out. Is Francis getting more respect? Sure, but it’s all relative. At Tyson Fury, [Fury] opened up as a -1700 [betting] favorite]. Francis was +750. It’s two levels of people saying we don’t think you can get it done. Whether you’re +500 or +750, it’s a whole bunch of people that are saying we don’t think you can get it done.”
Francis Ngannou is riding high on confidence, but it won’t be easy to take out Anthony Joshua. Following a two-fight skid against Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua bounced back with three consecutive wins, including his latest fifth-round TKO against Otto Wallin in late December 2023.
