*Rapper Drake loses $615,000 bet on Joshua
Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua floored Francis Ngannou three times in two rounds at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday in a knockout win that put him right back in the reckoning for another title shot.
The big British-Nigerian sent the 37-year-old Cameroon-born former UFC heavyweight champion, a two-fight professional boxing novice, to the canvas in the opening round with a straight right to the chin.
The “Knockout Chaos” fight then lived up to its billing in spectacular fashion as Joshua sent him crashing again in the second, first with a right-left combination and then an explosive right after he had beaten the count.
The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, with Joshua declared the winner by knockout victory and Ngannou out cold and receiving treatment before getting back, stunned, to his feet.
Far more had been expected from Ngannou after he knocked down WBC champion Tyson Fury in his first bout in Riyadh in October and went on to lose on a split decision, but Joshua was merciless.
“It is what it is,” he told the crowd, teasing out the words.
Fury, who fights Ukraine’s WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a rescheduled unification bout in Riyadh on May 18, was watching from ringside.
“I’m just here to fight. I’m going to go back to my cage, lock myself away, and then I’m going to be let out when it’s time to fight again,” said Joshua, hungry for a chance against the winner of the Usyk v Fury fight.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn sent out his own call: “There’s a brilliant fighter down there in Tyson Fury. Please beat Oleksandr Usyk, because you will get the biggest fight of all time.”
“That is one of the most destructive knockouts I’ve ever seen.”
Joshua said he had told Ngannou he was an inspiration and he could come again.
He said, “I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing, he can do well.
“Remember, he’s two fights in and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated.”
Fighting earlier on the undercard, New Zealand’s Joseph Parker beat Chinese heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang to take the WBO interim title on a majority points decision.
Parker’s victory came in spite of suffering two knockdowns.
Parker, who beat American former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in Riyadh in December, picked himself up after a straight left in round three and came back from a left-right combination in the eighth.
The ringside judges scored the fight to Parker 113-113, 114-112 and 115-111.
“We are contracted to have a rematch, so we will do it again,” said Parker.
Britain’s Nick Ball and Mexico’s WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas earlier fought a split-decision draw in spite of the challenger twice flooring the belt-holder.(
RAPPER DRAKE LOSES $615,000 BET
anadian international rapper Drake has lost a massive 600,000 dollars bet after Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in their heavyweight showdown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The superstar recording artiste, known for placing massive bets on sports events, posted earlier on Instagram that he was betting $615,000 on Ngannou to beat Joshua outright.
“Betting on a scary man,” Drake said.
Drake joined several fans of combat sports to believe that Ngannou could get the job done against Joshua, and if the bet had clicked, it would have paid out $1.9million.
Although Drake has recorded some big wins and losses in betting, he has gained notoriety with the “the Drake Curse”, assertion by fans accusing him of “cursing” athletes and teams after being pictured with them.
The “curse” has affected numerous victims such as quarterback Johny Manziel, UFC fighter Kamaru Usman, tennis star Serena Williams, and even the entire Kentucky Wildcats basketball team in the U.S.
In January, the rapper lost over half-a-million pounds when he incorrectly backed Sean Strickland to defend his UFC middleweight championship against Dricus Du Plessis.
One of Drake’s biggest bets in 2023 was on YouTube boxer Logan Paul to knock out Conor McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis in their Misfits Boxing fight.
The rapper won $1.3million after Danis was disqualified in the final round for trying to choke Paul unconscious, prompting a massive brawl to break out in the ring.
Earlier before that fight, Drake missed out on a $920,000 payout after Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland.
Drake was routing for Adesanya to knock out Strickland in their world title clash, but Strickland produced a massive upset to win on points.
