Anthony Joshua's coach has warned him to not take Francis Ngannou frivolously forward of their battle in Saudi Arabia on March 8. Ngannou nearly beat Tyson Fury final 12 months, because the WBC champion climbed again up from the canvas to win via split decision.

"Treat him with the respect," AJ's coach Ben Davison informed 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."

Davison added: "He showed composure, he showed patience, which are all things which become a threat when you can punch like that. 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."

Defeating Ngannou, who's used to preventing within the UFC's octagon, is not going to be simple for Joshua. Davison continued: "You have got the MMA," Davison stated. "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 feels certain he may beat AJ after they meet within the Middle East. He informed DAZN that he doubts Joshua can deal with punches like Fury did of their bout final 12 months. Ngannou stated: "Yeah, I have a doubt about that.

"Tyson confirmed that he is very resilient. I noticed him come again from knockdowns such as you would not imagine. So I feel he is most likely one of the vital resistant folks on the market, and that is not a disrespect to AJ. I do not imagine that AJ would take what Tyson did."

Ngannou added: "Even going into the battle, I knew that even when I knocked him down, I might not get excited. That wouldn't imply something as a result of he all the time comes again."

The winner between Joshua and Ngannou is expected to face the undisputed world heavyweight champion. That title will be decided in May when Fury faces Usyk, after their initial fight was postponed due to Fury getting a bad cut while sparring.

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