Paulie Malignaggi backs Anthony Joshua to take Francis Ngannou out
Speaking to Lord Ping, former world champion Paulie Malignaggi admitted he is impressed with the ex-UFC world champion Francis Ngannou, but believes two-time heavyweight world champ Anthony Joshua will handle him easily.
The heavyweights will clash in a Brobdingnagian bumper boxing bill in Saudi Arabia on March 8, broadcast live on DAZN and Sky Sports.
The 43-year-old Brooklynite shared his expert views, “It’s a hard one to come back from if he loses, but I think he backs Ngannou up and stops him. I like what I saw against Wallin, I think Ben Davison is one of the better trainers in boxing today, he’s really shown he’s super adept at taking on world-class fighters and improving them, and it was the best AJ I’ve seen in a while.
“Ngannou is a puncher, and as with most punchers, if you back them up, you can nullify them. Ngannou looked great as an MMA guy in boxing, his feet were good. But a very well-prepared AJ who backs you up behind the jab with changes of rhythm, you’re going to take away Ngannou’s power.
“As impressed as I was with Ngannou, I still think AJ takes him out pretty easily.”
Find out who other boxing experts are picking to win between Joshua and Ngannou