Anthony Joshua's chin questioned as Tyson Fury credentials bigged up by Francis Ngannou ahead of Saudi Arabia showdown

Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou thinks Tyson Fury is made of sterner stuff than Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou gave the "Gypsy King" a real scare October, losing to the WBC heavyweight champion on a controversial points decision after dropping Fury in the third round. Now he's getting ready to fight Joshua in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 8, and hopes a surprise victory will help him score a rematch with Fury.

Asked if Joshua could get back up from the punch he delivered to Fury during their boxing match, Ngannou said: "I have a doubt about that, Tyson has showed that he is very resilient. I saw him come back from a knockdown that you wouldn't believe somebody would come back from. He is probably one of the most resistant people out there. That is not a disrespect to AJ. I don't believe that Joshua will take what Tyson did.

"Even going to the fight, I knew that even if I knock him down I will not get excited. That it wouldn't mean anything because he always comes back, so I had to prepare for a very endured person. Psychologically that's how I was."

Joshua reacted to Ngannou doubting his ability to recover by saying: "Who hasn't knocked Tyson down? So many people have knocked Tyson down." Fury has been knocked down seven times in his professional career but has always got back up to win, and was unfortunate to to do so in the draw against Deontay Wilder in 2018 in the first of three epic fights between the pair.

Joshua was meant to fight Wilder before Ngannou, but that changed when Wilder lost to Joseph Parker just before Christmas. 'AJ' has changed his mind about fighting Ngannou, which the Cameroon-born star finds funny.

"It's still a gimmick fight, the fight is a gimmick. I think it's very funny because I think of a