Carl Froch delivered a damning verdict on Francis Ngannou’s boxing career, suggesting he should not step foot in a professional ring again after his knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou surprised many on his professional debut when he knocked down reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury en route to a narrow split-decision loss.
However, the former UFC heavyweight champion’s boxing hopes were brought crashing back down to earth after an emphatic loss to Joshua on Friday night in Saudi Arabia.
The Cameroonian was knocked down in the first round and early in the second before Joshua delivered a vicious knockout blow to leave his opponent motionless on the canvas.
In the aftermath, Ngannou vowed to continue his boxing career but former world super-middleweight champion Froch believes the 37-year-old has no future in the sport.
‘Look at Francis Ngannou’s record on BoxRec. Have a look at what he’s done,’ he said, speaking on talkSPORT.
‘He’s had two fights as a professional, he’s lost to Tyson Fury and now he’s been badly knocked out by Anthony Joshua.
‘I don’t think he should be in the professional ring again, he ain’t got time to build up, he’s nearly 40 years old.
‘He ain’t got time to build up as a pro, he has made plenty of money. That was a bad knockout, it probably took a few years off his bloody life, because he got banjoed, he was out cold before he hit the floor.
‘That’s gonna have some damaging effects. Not just mentally, but physically, that’s a bad one at that age. I don’t recommend getting flattened like that.’
Ngannou, will likely return to MMA next and make his promotional debut with PFL against Renan Ferreria.
Joshua, meanwhile, has catapulted himself to the brink of a third world title shot and will likely await the winner of Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, who meet in their historic undisputed heavyweight title fight on 18 May.
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