Anthony Joshua warned he better 'respect' Francis Ngannou ahead of Saudi Arabia showdown

Anthony Joshua has been given advice on how to beat 'world-class' Francis Ngannou - with his trainer Ben Davison warning him not to underestimate the former UFC star ahead of their fight in Saudi Arabia next month.

Back in October, Ngannou nearly defeated Tyson Fury on his professional boxing debut, with the WBC champion only just managing to win by a controversial split decision. "Treat him with the respect," AJ's trainer Ben Davison told Sky Sports. "Let's not lose the sight of it. He had a split-decision loss to Tyson.

"Straightaway that puts him up among people that have really struggled with Tyson. He showed composure, he showed patience, which are all things which become a threat when you can punch like that", added Davison. "I think it's easier to deal with a puncher when they're a little bit reckless, a bit gung ho. They're the novicey side of his game that we thought we would see - a lack of patience, a lack of composure. But those are things that he's shown. So we're treating him like a world-class heavyweight."

Despite his lack of experience in boxing, Davison says Ngannou's background in the UFC makes him a credible threat: "You have got the MMA. A lot of his knockouts have come from him standing up and his punches etc. So there is a bit to look at in the MMA as well and obviously the 10-round fight with Tyson. The 10-round fight against Tyson's a big asset to us, I feel."

Ngannou is confident he can win against AJ in their upcoming fight in the Middle East. Speaking to DAZN, Ngannou expressed his doubts about Joshua's ability to take punches as well as Fury did in their previous match. He said: "Yeah, I have a doubt about that."

"Tyson showed that he's very resilient. I saw him come back from knockdowns