- “Today was a bad day in the office but tomorrow will be another day,” he said.
- Ngannou is set to return to Mixed Martial Art later this year
Image: SCREENSHOT/BBC
Heavyweight boxer Francis Ngannou has apologised to his fans after Briton Anthony Joshua knocked him out in the second round of a fight in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua, 34, floored the UFC champion in the first round and early in the second.
The 37-year-old took to X to apologise to his supporters hours after the humiliating defeat.
“Sorry guys I let you all down. Today was a bad day in the office but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love,” he said.
A dazed Ngannou rose to his feet in Riyadh but was stunned by an explosive and formidable right moments later as the referee halted the contest.
"I'm going back to my cage and when they let me out, I'll fight again," Joshua said, as WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury watched on from ringside.
Fury made tough work of Ngannou in October when he was dropped by the debutant before edging a points win.
"When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury I thought 'I want some of that'. [Ngannou] is a great champion and this doesn't take anything away from his capabilities," said Joshua.
"I told him not to leave boxing. He's two fights in and he's fought the best."
Victory is two-time world champion Joshua's fourth in 11 months, and keeps alive his ambition of recapturing a world title.
Eddie Hearn called for Joshua, who he has promoted throughout the heavyweight's pro career, to face the winner of Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair will fight to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion in May, with a rematch later in the year.
"In five years I won't be fighting," Joshua added. "Eddie Hearn and my team will shape my future."
While it was not the star studded affair seen in past event in the region, former champions Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao rubbed shoulders with the likes of football manager Jose Mourinho and Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo.
The card was billed as 'knockout chaos' but the Saudi crowd - as they usually do - behaved in a very quiet and orderly manner.
The pressure was on Joshua to deliver a message to rival Fury. A fighter who has faced an intense level of scrutiny in recent years, Joshua acknowledged the impact of trainer Ben Davison.
Although his childhood dream of becoming a boxing world champion may never become reality, Ngannou is set to return to MMA later this year with the PFL in search of his next prey.