Boxing fans spot confusing Anthony Joshua optical illusion during Francis Ngannou face-off
Boxing fans have spotted a peculiar quirk in Anthony Joshua’s face-off with Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou and Joshua shared their final face-off, a day before their ‘Knockout Chaos’ fight in Saudi Arabia.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou hit the scales at 272.6lb [19.6 stone], nearly two stone heavier than Joshua, who came in at 252.4lb [18 stone] for his 31st professional fight.
The pair subsequently went on to engage in an intense stare-off. As the two heavyweights eyed each other up, several fans on social media remarked that despite the weigh-in figures, Joshua looked the heavier of the two fighters.
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One person said on X, formally Twitter: “Not going lie, AJ makes him look small.”
Another added: “Joshua looks big bro.”
A third said: “When you see them face to face Ngannou certainly doesn’t look much heavier, intrigued to see this fight but more excited for Parker V Zhang.”
A fourth person commented: “AJ looks bigger. Holy crap.”
Nevertheless, Ngannou admitted he is feeling confident ahead of his second boxing bout.
"I’ve learnt a little bit from the last fight, the last camp, and leading up to this one," he told Ariel Helwani. "So, I get a little bit of experience, but the mindset is still the same.
"This is just my second boxing match, even though I’m taking on the two best guys in the world in boxing, it’s still my second boxing match.
"I’m going out there to prove you can be an underdog and take it."
When asked why he was smiling during the face-off Ngannou added: "Sometimes it just makes me laugh a little bit because we are going to fight in boxing rules, but what would happen if it was just a free fight under MMA rules?
"I would smoke this guy [laughs]. I’m the only one to go in their backyard, none of them can come in my backyard. I would take two of them at once."
Topics: Boxing, Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou, Saudi Arabia, UFC, MMA, Fan Reactions
Chris Byfield