UFC champ offers Anthony Joshua help in training to fight MMA star Francis Ngannou and says ‘give me a call’
TOM ASPINALL has offered to help Anthony Joshua in preparation to fight Francis Ngannou.
Joshua faces the MMA star on March 8 in Saudi Arabia just five months after Ngannou’s controversial loss to Tyson Fury.
And Aspinall – the UFC’s current interim heavyweight champion – would be happy to spar AJ in the build up to the crossover clash.
He told Matchroom Boxing: “If [Joshua] needs help, give me a call and I’ll be there.
“Boxers are used to fighting boxers, so they know the patterns of a boxer.
“The patterns, movement and thought process of a boxer. In MMA we’re doing different stuff than a standard boxer would.
“We’re throwing different shots from different angles and that’s something an MMA fighter, I’m not saying just me, could definitely help out AJ with.”
Ngannou, 37, walked out on the UFC last year to cross over to the ring to fight Fury, 35, in October.
He sensationally dropped the Gypsy King on his boxing debut but suffered a controversial split-decision loss.
Ngannou instead returns against Joshua, who Aspinall warned must acclimatise to the unpredictability of facing an MMA fighter.
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He said: “If you get standard boxers in that have been boxing since they’re ten years old, they’re going to move and have the same thought process as every other boxer.
“As MMA fighters our patterns are different, movements are jerkier and the way we defend is different to a boxer.
“I’m not going to tell AJ what to do, but it would be definitely recommended to get a decent level MMA fighter in as a sparring partner.”