Ricky Hatton discusses the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight
OLBG spoke with boxing legend Ricky Hatton who previewed Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou and praised Joshua's resurgence although he warned the two-time heavyweight champion to be wary of "The Predator's" punch power.
Here's what he had to say:
AJ v Francis Ngannou – what’s your thoughts?
RH: "It’s a sensible fight for Anthony Joshua to make because of how well Francis Ngannou did against Tyson Fury. There’s a big question mark really. Was Francis Ngannou better than what we thought he was, or did Tyson take him too lightly? Either way, AJ was in good form against Otto Wallin showing good boxing ability, and his confidence will be back up now.
"The fact that Tyson struggled, if AJ goes in and puts on an impressive performance then that’s a massive thing in their favour. I still think Tyson is the best heavyweight out there, he took Ngannou lightly, but I can see where Eddie Hearn is going with AJ in order to make the match because Tyson couldn’t have struggled anymore. If Joshua goes out there and impresses, it can only work in his favour."
How do you think Joshua would react to Ngannou if a power shot lands?
RH: "AJ is a very good boxer and is known for his explosiveness and his power, but you don’t become an Olympic gold medallist and a two-time heavyweight champion of the world without the ability that Joshua has.
"But on the downside, he can be hurt, knocked down and stopped and when you think of the size and punching power Ngannou has got, there’s every chance he could knock AJ out, but the bigger picture is, Joshua is a very rounded, accomplished boxer. He’s very skilful and heavy-handed and it’s the right time for him because his confidence is sky high from the past couple of performances.
"If he goes out and there impresses where Tyson didn’t, it’ll work more in his favour when they sit down on the negotiation table and try and make the Tyson Fury fight."