Francis Ngannou on Anthony Joshua: ‘I’m going to be the one taking his soul’

February 6, 2024 12:10 pm ET

Francis Ngannou has sent a chilling message ahead of his boxing showdown with Anthony Joshua.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou (0-1) takes on former heavyweight boxing champ Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) in a 10-round match March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua had a standout 2023 in which he went 3-0, including a fifth-round TKO of Otto Wallin in December. Ngannou is going into the fight with bad intentions.

“Nothing is impossible, right? We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out,” Ngannou said on the “High Performance” podcast. “We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”

Ngannou impressed in his boxing debut last October when he stunningly knocked down WBC champ Tyson Fury in a close split decision loss. The judges may not have given Ngannou the win, but in his mind, he was still victorious.

“I won,” Ngannou said. “Look at me now, look at my life, look at where I was when you think I lost. You think because some foolish judges make some decision, that change anything in my life? My family that I was telling you about, they were sitting in the first row watching that fight.

“The dream that I was in since I was kid, I was, that night, living that dream on top of the world. I was there. And for all the people that (have) been doubting me, I was there proving them wrong. For everybody that ever looked me down, I was there proving them wrong. I won everything.”

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