Anthony Joshua set for a showdown with a winner of the Fury/ Usyk fight after yesterday's win

FORMER world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua continued his comeback yesterday when he beat Francis Ngannou in two rounds yesterday in an eliminator that took place on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In September 2021, Joshua lost his World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, when they met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Since then, he has been on the comeback trail, fighting several eliminators, with the fight against Ngannou being one of them.

Last night, only one minute into the Knockout Chaos main event in Riyadh, Joshua sent the Ngannou sprawling on the canvas with a typical right hook. A shell-shocked Ngannou faced a countdown just before the first round ended before Joshua put the Cameroonian out of his misery with an emphatic finish as the second round wound down.

It was a blow that shattered any prospect of a sensational upset and continued Joshua's march towards becoming a three-time world champion. Ola Olukole, a senior tech specialist, said he was more shocked by Ngannou’s approach to the fight.

He added: “Shocking, real shocking, especially after the outing against Fury. Unlike Fury, Joshua wasn’t playing around trying to test if he’s a boxer or not, he attacked early to gauge his reach.

“For the knockout, Francis did something amateur going weak with southpaw and Joshua saw it open and slapped the knockout. Joshua is also different, he changed coaches or trainers and lately he’s been dictating tempo unlike before where he leans and allows the opponent to come at him.

However, take nothing away from Joshua’s victory. It is probably the most destructive knockout of his career and he looks like a man on his way back up."

This win follows up stoppages against Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin in reigniting his pursuit of another world title opportunity. The victory is now expected to pave the way to a shot at the winner of Fury and Usyk’s clash for the undisputed world  heavyweight championship.