Boxing enthusiasts in Lagos have backed Nigerian-British-born Anthony Joshua to beat French-Cameroonian-born Francis Ngannou in a 10-round heavyweight clash on Friday in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

In separate interviews on Thursday, the fans said Joshua would win the bout.

Abayomi Oyeleye, a boxing coach with Bornu Sports Association, said the fight would be tough, considering both boxers’ determination to win. He said that as a Nigerian, he is supporting Joshua to come out as the winner of the boxing match.

“Anthony Joshua will defeat Ngannou because he is fighting with a lot of experience. Ngannou is a world champion with the Ultimate Fighting Machine (UFC) mixed martial arts, but he cannot have the longevity Joshua has.

“I give it to Joshua to win. As a Nigerian, I am supporting Joshua, although I expect a very good fight from both fighters. Ngannou is a power punch that has always been a trade mark for him in defeating his opponents at the UFC. His recent fight with Tyson Fury also showed that he can adapt to boxing rules,” Oyeleye said.

Oyeleye said Joshua is a far more experienced boxer than Ngannou because he is a trained boxer and has been in the business far more than Ngannou.

“Ngannou is a newcomer in boxing and would find it very difficult to defeat a well-established boxer in the capacity of Joshua. Joshua also possessed better boxing skills and could move very well to avoid Ngannou’s power punch and tactics,” Oyeleye added.

Remi Aboderin, the West Africa Boxing Union (WABU) president, said that he is solidly behind Joshua to beat Ngannou.

“My position is Joshua winning the boxing bout. He is going to teach Ngannou some boxing lessons. We should not look at what happened between Tyson Fury and Ngannou to judge what will happen between Joshua and Ngannou.

“Furry had underrated Ngannou and had to work his socks off to get himself winning the bout; Joshua should just work hard in picking his points. Joshua should avoid going to a toe to toe brawl with Ngannou, because he is very tough in fighting and winning brawls.

“Joshua already knows what he is going into when he agrees to fight Ngannou for a non-title bout; he would unleash his qualities by the sixth round of the fight. He will then go on to dominate the other rounds and eventually beat Ngannou silly,” he said.

According to Aboderin, Nigeria can boast of homegrown talents doing well in the international circuit.

Coach Shehu Yusuf of the Lagos State Sports Association said the fight would be open because both contenders are world-class boxers.

“I support Anthony Joshua to beat Ngannou, although the fight will be a very tough one because both fighters are great athletes. I believe Joshua would have trained so hard for this fight and would not allow Ngannou to have the upper hand.

“I also believe that Ngannou’s corner must have seen the lapses on the part of Joshua and will exploit them.

“I wish both fighters the best of luck but expect a Joshua victory,” Yusuf said.

Joshua is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version) and International Boxing Federation (IBF).

He also twice held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) titles between 2016 and 2021. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title twice during that reign.

At the regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.

Ngannou is a professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter originally from Cameroon, known for his impressive knockout power and meteoric rise in the sport.

(NAN)