Top boxing contender slams Ngannou-Joshua ‘exhibition’

Heavyweight contender Zhilei Zhang isn’t slightly on board with the upcoming combat between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua.

The two broken-down champions of their respective sports actions are attributable to nasty paths in a boxing ring in Saudi Arabia in early March; a combat made doable by Ngannou’s pro boxing debut the put he lost a razor-thin destroy up resolution to the soundless-unbeaten Tyson Fury in October, as neatly as Joseph Parker’s surprise bag over Deontay Wilder closing month — which waylaid plans for a Joshua-Wilder bout.

But with Ngannou now filling that slot against Joshua despite having completely one combat — a loss — on his document, Chinese heavyweight contender Zhang doesn’t imagine the combat is the relaxation bigger than a cash-grabbing exhibition.

“I judge, from my level of view, that’s a ten-round exhibition,” the 40-365 days-venerable, defeated only once in his occupation, talked about to Fight Hype.

Plenty of of us are going to tune in to stare that combat which ability of they wish to seek boxing versus MMA, Joshua versus Ngannou, two renowned athletes going at every diverse,” Zhang talked about.

On the opposite hand, whereas he admits the combat has captured the general public attention he says that as an athletic opponents, there can finest be one winner.

“To me, there is no seek files from that Joshua will web the victory and it’s simply, like I talked about, a ten-round exhibition and must you basically seek at it from boxing level of view, who the first-tournament can be,” he talked about.

Zhang closing competed in September the put he scored a second successive bag over Britain’s Joe Joyce — fights which rebounded him from his sole occupation loss in August 2022 against undefeated Croat Filip Hrgovic.

The Chinese will subsequent combat Wilder’s conqueror, Joseph Parker, on the undercard of the Ngannou-Joshua bout on March 8.