Paulie Malignaggi says Anthony Joshua showed there is a level to boxing.
On Friday night, Joshua faced Francis Ngannou in a 10-round heavyweight boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, it only lasted two rounds as Joshua dropped the former UFC heavyweight champion twice, forcing him to go down cold in just two rounds.
Leading up to the fight, many gave Ngannou a great chance to upset Joshua. Malignaggi wasn't that kind of fighter, but he said it was over and the fight went the way he expected.
“Coming into this fight, some thought Francis Ngannou's strength would be questionable,” Malignaggi said on his YouTube channel. “Listen, guys that strong are always going to have some problems.'' I think Francis Ngannou's momentum comes from his performance against Tyson Fury. I think everyone realized that Francis Ngannou is someone who should be taken a little more seriously than your average bear, more than your average guy who came from MMA to become a punching bag. He was actually someone who made the right adjustments in boxing and demanded that kind of respect.
“But still, my conclusion going into this fight is that even though he has all the fundamentals solid, and he has more fundamentals than any other MMA fighter who came to boxing, especially in the footwork area. Even if they had learned it better in the previous year, it was still the basics.'' So a guy who's a little bit more versatile in his style, a guy who has different layers to his style, a guy who's trying to bring those different layers to the fight, that's still going to confuse him. Because once the fight became basic, there was nothing Francis Ngannou could really do except hope for a lucky punch. ”
Malignaggi knows a thing or two about boxing. 'The Magic Man', a two-division world champion with an overall record of 36-8, has spent much of the past few years in the role of an analyst for the sport, and has been unable to explain exactly what Joshua has done to dismantle him. Explained in detail. Gannou.
“Ngannou knows how to think there, but he doesn't have the experience necessary to know how to even use what he wants, so use it,” Malignaggi said. “He's always going to stay fundamental. Joshua uses level changes, rhythm changes, up jabs, down jabs, feints with his legs and shoulders, hits the jab, doesn't break off the jab, doesn't break off the jab. Doubled down. He practiced all very well how to lead with his left hand. …
“That lead hand was able to set the power and it took away all of Ngannou's confidence and his ability to get into any kind of rhythm and get into any kind of power comfort to be comfortable throwing.”His power shot makes Joshua uncomfortable. That's kind of the difference between boxer layers. A solid boxer in the boxing ring will have all the layers that a fighter who hasn't been completely focused on boxing his whole life doesn't have. ”
However, despite the one-sided nature of the bout, Malignaggi isn't entirely superior to Ngannou as a boxer. The former WBA welterweight champion sent flowers to 'The Predator', but he suggested that he needs to take a step back from competition if he wants to continue the sweet science.
“I think Ngannou has a lot of ability,” Malignaggi said. “If Ngannou had focused his entire career on boxing, I think he might have gone somewhere else. He went the MMA route, and that's fine, he had a great MMA career. had.
“Ngannou, even if he stays in boxing, I think he needs to take a step back and fight a top 20 or top 25 guy. Considering this is only his third professional fight, this is still a timely debate. But going up against two of the top three heavyweights in the world is a tough place to start.”
