Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua never let Francis Ngannou settle in.
After dropping the ex-UFC champion early, Joshua floored Ngannou at the start of the second round. The bout headlined an event from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Friday live on DAZN pay-per-view.
Related: Anthony Joshua Suggests Francis Ngannou Should Never Return To MMA?
A straight-right hand first put Ngannou on the canvas, as another in the second ended it.
Tyson Fury, who battled Ngannou to a decision win, called the fight ending early. He predicted that Joshua would knock Ngannou out in the first round.
The win marks the 25th knockout victory for Joshua, who is now 28-3 overall. Ngannou falls to 0-2 inside the boxing ring.
Ngannou took to social media after the loss to issue a statement.
“Sorry guys I let you all down,” he wrote. “Today was a bad day in the office but tomorrow will be another day.
“Thank you all for the love.”
Joshua, meanwhile, also offered his thoughts on the bout, posting a picture with Ngannou while writing “Respect my guy.”
Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou Prelim Results
In the co-main event, Joseph Parker secured the WBO interim heavyweight title with a decision over Zhilei Zhang.
Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball was ruled a split draw, as Vargas retained his WBC featherweight title. The third championship match saw Israil Madrimov claim the vacant WBC super welterweight belt over Magomed Kurbanov.
Mark Chamberlain, Justis Huni, Louis Greene, Roman Fury, Ziyad Almaayouf and Andrii Novytski were also winners on the prelims.
Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou Results
- Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou via KO (second round)
- Joseph Parker def. Zhilei Zhang via majority decision
- Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball declared a split draw
- Israil Madrimov def. Magomed Kurbanov via TKO (fifth round)
- Mark Chamberlain def. Gavin Gwynee via TKO (fourth round)
- Justis Huni def. Kevin Lerena via unanimous decision
- Louis Greene def. Jack McGann via TKO (first round)
- Roman Fury def. Martin Svarc via unanimous decision
- Ziyad Almaayouf def. Christian Lopez Flores via unanimous decision
- Andrii Novytski def. Juan Torres via TKO (third round)
