Frank Warren claims that Anthony Joshua is in 'real jeopardy' as he puts in his final preparations to fight Francis Ngannou.
Joshua and Ngannou will battle it out on Friday evening in Saudi Arabia and Tyson Fury's promoter has given an honest verdict on what the result could mean for the Brit.
Joshua has won his last three fights since back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk as he attempts to get his heavyweight career back on track.
The 34-year-old most recently beat Otto Wallin in December and is now set to pit himself against former MMA star Ngannou.
Anthony Joshua has been told he is taking a huge risk fighting Francis Ngannou
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Ngannou only has one professional boxing match to his name, when he almost pulled off a huge upset against Fury last October.
He knocked down the Gypsy King in the third round and only lost via a split decision, a result which was criticised by many in the boxing fraternity.
Joshua is hoping to keep up his winning run as he pushes for an all-British affair against Fury in the near future.
But Warren has warned the former Olympic champion that he simply cannot afford to lose on Friday.
He told Sky Sports: "Here we are now, it's the next phase. Can AJ do better than Tyson did? Can he stop him? We'll see.
"Will [Ngannou] learn from his last fight? Will he look a better fighter this time around?
"AJ's putting it all on the line here. He can't afford to lose this fight, having come off such a good win last time out.
"So this is real jeopardy for him, no doubt about it. It will be knockout chaos."
Warren believes Joshua will be proving a point if he does do what Fury couldn't do and knocks out Ngannou.
But he admits a big risk has been taken by Joshua and his camp to accept the fight.
Warren added: "It's a big risk fight but it's a big reward fight because if he stops him, people will be saying 'He did what Tyson didn't do'.
"If he loses, then it's going to be a long way back for him. It is a tough, tough match.
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Francis Ngannou will take on Anthony Joshua in his second boxing fight
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"You've got to think they wouldn't take that chance, wouldn't really risk it, if they didn't feel that he could do the job.
"For me, the fight is all about who lands that hurtful punch first. And if AJ gets hurt first, if he hurts him with a powerful punch, is he going to stick to his gameplan?
"Or is he going to fight like he did against [Andy] Ruiz and go on the backfoot? And I wouldn't want to go on the backfoot against this guy."
Anthony Joshua has won his last three fights since April 2023
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Warren says he would not have accepted the fight if he was the promoter for Joshua.
He added: "Would I take the fight? No I wouldn't. Looking at it, I wouldn't take the fight. Because I'm talking myself out of it!"
