Anthony Joshua has been told he can learn from Tyson Fury’s poor performance against Francis Ngannou ahead of their crossover fight.

Ngannou put on a stunning performance in his boxing debut against Fury last October as he dropped the heavyweight champion and only lost by a single point in a controversial decision. The former UFC champion is now gearing up for his second fight in the ring as he faces Fury’s longtime domestic rival Joshua on March 8 to close out Riyadh season.

Joshua has taken confidence from Ngannou’s fight against Fury as he is hoping a win in two months time can put him on a path to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight world titles. Legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas has backed ‘AJ’ to beat Ngannou and thinks he won’t make the same mistakes that Fury made in his last fight.

“You could look at it and say ‘Ok now forewarned and fore-prepared. He’s prepared mentally unlike Fury to take him serious, stay on the outside, counter punch and stay in control.’ He can show the difference between a polished boxer, a finished product, a guy who has had all kinds of amateur and pro experience up against a guy who doesn’t have that experience in a boxing ring,” Atlas said on The Fight podcast.

“It’ll wind up being a fight where he can win in a hands down way. I’m not so quick to say that right now. Ngannou is a great athlete he is confident, he has the mental toughness and the belief in himself. Joshua is a guy some people think is a little chinny. We know Ngannou can punch. If he can put his hand on that chin, who knows? But you’d have to figure Joshua is a favourite.

Joshua is unbeaten in his last three fights as he ended a successful 2023 campaign with a flawless win against Otto Wallin. Fury is tied up until the end of the year in a two-fight deal with Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed belts and Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn explained why he is hoping ‘The Gypsy King’ can come out on top in both fights.

“I said before the Wallin fight that he is going to beat Wallin, beat [Deontay] Wilder and beat Fury. The only thing that’s going to change is Ngannou replaces Wilder. I truly believe AJ will become undisputed heavyweight champion. I love Usyk but part of me wants Tyson to win that fight so we can potentially move,” Hearn said on The MMA Hour.