BN Fight Facts: As expected, Anthony Joshua deals with Francis Ngannou, knocking him out cold in the second round

THE RESULT: A brutal end to a foolish combat, Anthony Joshua ended the boxing ambition of Francis Ngannou at the two minute and 38-second mark of round two. The end was delivered by an enormous proper hand which left Ngannou, knocked down twice already, out cold on the ring canvas.

KEY MOMENTS: Despite a optimistic begin in the combat, Ngannou switched to southpaw midway by round one and located himself nailed by a stupendous and completely executed proper cross thrown by Joshua. This shot put Ngannou on the deck for the first time in his skilled profession and the second and third knockdowns had been to observe in round two. Both of these knockdowns had been equally spectacular, with the second of them, the final, pretty much as good a shot as Joshua has ever thrown as a professional.

RECORDS: Joshua strikes his professional report to 28-3 (25), whereas Ngannou, 37, nonetheless appears for his first professional win, with his report now standing at 0-2 (0).

TALKING POINT: While Joshua ought to obtain credit score for doing what he was anticipated to do to Ngannou, and doing one thing Tyson Fury was unable to do in October, this outcome should nonetheless come with an asterisk. Ngannou, in spite of everything, is a fighter with no skilled boxing win to his identify and confirmed no indicators tonight of that altering anytime quickly; significantly if he continues to combat world-class heavyweights. “Don’t leave boxing,” Joshua mentioned to Ngannou in the ring after the combat, however this combat, and Joshua’s proper hand, might have been the actuality examine required to maintain Ngannou in combined martial arts or a minimum of, if eager to field, persuade him to drop down a stage or two.

QUOTABLE: “On the route to the championship, you should always stay focused,” Joshua mentioned after the combat. “This was me stepping aside on that mission. But when I saw the fight with him (Ngannou) and Tyson Fury, I was like, ‘Damn, this guy can fight!’ I was like, ‘I need a piece of that!’ He’s an inspiration. We broke bread together and he’s a great champion. This doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities. He can come again. Remember, he’s two fights in and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated. But it’s up to him.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Asked if his subsequent combat goes to be in opposition to the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua smiled and mentioned, “Yes, it is.”