2024 knockout of the year: anthony joshua-Francis Ngannou

By: Sean Crose

Some shots are impressive. Others are downright frightening. The thunderbolt Anthony Joshua landed on Francis Ngannou’s temple last March was downright frightening. While it was true that Ngannou had successfully knocked heavyweight honcho Tyson Fury down on the mat in his professional debut, he would have no such moments to call his own when he squared off against Joshua several months later. Fury had been accused of taking Ngannou lightly. Joshua made sure he wouldn’t be accused of the same thing when he faced Ngannou in Saudi Arabia this past March.

Proving that patience is a virtue, Joshua let Ngannou come forward and perform well enough in the first before dropping his man with a picture perfect straight right later in the round. Ngannou got up and made it to the bell well enough, but the dye had been cast. A right hook put Ngannou down again in the second – and this time it was clear that Ngannou was in real trouble. Although he once again gamely got to his feet, Nagannou’s dazed expression said it all.

The fight was over a few seconds later. A missile of an overhand right from Joshua landed on Ngannou’s temple, sending the ballsy UFC star flat on his back, virtually motionless. The referee did the right thing by not counting Ngannou out, opting instead to immediately wave the fight off, so that Ngannou could get the treatment he surely needed. Fortunately, Ngannou eventually got back to his feet, seemingly no worse for wear (though he did receive oxygen after being placed on a stool). Seeing the man lying flat after taking such a shot from Joshua had been a genuine cause for concern. Joshua had meant to prove the Fury knockdown had been a fluke, but even he himself couldn’t have imagined his fight with Ngannou ending as explosively and as violently as it did.

Of course some would say that it was only expected that Joshua would dominate Ngannou. This was only Ngannuo’s second professional boxing match. Even though some felt he should have gotten the decision nod after the fight with Fury (who ended up getting the judge’s nod himself), it wasn’t surprising that Joshua would be able to do what the sometimes random Fury couldn’t. No matter. A knockout like the one that ended Joshua-Usyk is one worth remembering, a single shot as perfectly executed as it was powerful. It was unquestionably the single most destructive shot of 2004.