Francis Ngannou says he is ‘not done with boxing’ after Anthony Joshua

Francis Ngannou won’t be deterred by his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. Ngannou took sole responsibility for his poor showing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, but said he felt unusual in the moments leading to his ringwalk.

Ngannou entered the ring as a live underdog against the former two-time unified heavyweight boxing champion. The belief in Ngannou was sourced from his remarkable showing against WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury in October. In this matchup, however, he looked every bit like a UFC fighter competing in his second professional boxing bout against the elite.

“We all knew it could happen,” Ngannou said on Instagram Live on Wednesday while reflecting on his second-round KO loss. “I wasn’t seeing it happen like that, but I always knew it could happen.”

Ngannou and his team arrived early in Riyadh to acclimate to the time difference. The headliners fought after 3 a.m. local time. It’s a setting Ngannou was familiar with after boxing Fury to a split decision loss last year, but the former UFC heavyweight champ said he felt unusually sleepy while warming up for Joshua.

“I remember being in the locker [room] trying to warm up, and bro, it wasn’t going,” Ngannou said. “I was falling asleep. I’m sweating, but I’m falling asleep.

“I assume that’s how some people I have fought, some people that I beat have felt before, but it was basically my first time to feel that. That’s why I kind of took a couple of days out, I took some time for me. I obviously had to reflect on everything that’s happened through the fight.”

Ngannou applauded Joshua’s team for their success. Ngannou also shielded his coaches from blame.

“Everybody showed up and did what should have been done,” Ngannou said. “No blame to anybody. All the blame is just about me.

“Heads up to Anthony Joshua, to his team, that executed their plan properly. Hats off to my team, too, because they did…