05 March 2024 , 18:25
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Francis Ngannou left presenter Olivia Buzaglo red-faced with an X-rated response to her question about Anthony Joshua.
Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou fights for the second time as a professional boxer when he faces Joshua on Friday in Saudi Arabia. The Cameroonian put on a stunning performance in his ring debut last October when he dropped Tyson Fury and only lost by a single point in a controversial decision.
Ngannou got in the ring to show off a selection of skills this evening at an open workout in Riyadh. DAZN presenter Buzaglo then asked him: "Are you going to stay around to watch Anthony Joshua do his open workout or have you watched enough of him in the build-up to this fight? I think he's going to be here in not much time." Ngannou then responded: "I have something else to do... which is you," before adding: "Media!"
Joshua held a bizarre open workout just moments after Ngannou as he shadowboxed alongside several kids in the ring. The former two-time heavyweight world champion then stood in a corner of the ring and watched closely as one of the kids hit pads. "It’s a great chance for me to let other people use the platform that I’ve created to express themselves and their talent," Joshua said.
"I know how much the people of Saudi are embracing boxing and health in general, not everyone wants to be a world champion. I gave them a chance to get on TV and hopefully their parents will see and it will boost their morale. I’m here to fight, I wasn’t acknowledging that [the fans] with all due respect, I’m here to fight. This is my life. Talk is cheap.”
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The winner of Joshua and Ngannou's fight has been promised a crack at the undisputed world titles, which Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight for on May 18. Ngannou is seemingly routing for Fury in that fight as he is hoping a win against Joshua can earn him a second fight with Fury, regardless of whether the world titles are on the line or not.
"Every single fight will always feel different," Ngannou said. "In my opinion, the Tyson Fury one was different. It was the first time and there was a lot of noise. Fury is loud and there was a lot of curiosity, even a lot of people including the boxing community didn’t believe it. It’s changed because now people are thinking, 'Ok, this is a normal fight’."