Tyson Fury's former sparring partner has sent a major warning to Anthony Joshua ahead of his upcoming fight with Francis Ngannou.
Tom Aspinall claims Ngannou's performance against Fury last October was 'mind-blowing' and thinks he can cause his opponent big problems in Riyadh next week if he repeats that showing.
Joshua will take on the former MMA star in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next Friday in what will be his fourth fight in just 11 months.
The former two-time heavyweight champion is attempting to rebuild his boxing career after back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua has been warned of the task in hand against Francis Ngannou
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Ngannou only has one professional boxing fight to his name, when he narrowly lost to Fury via a split decision five months ago.
Many felt the Cameroon-born star deserved victory after flooring the Gypsy King in the third round.
UFC star Aspinall, who has often sparred Fury in the past, was taken aback by Ngannou's performance against him.
He claims the 37-year-old has shown a level of boxing that can cause Joshua severe problems and give him a 50 per cent chance of winning.
Aspinall told Nordic Bet: "I think it’s a 50/50 fight. If you would’ve asked me two years ago about this fight, I would have said that is the stupidest question somebody has ever asked me, AJ will walk over him, easy.
"As someone who has done a lot of sparring with Tyson Fury and has seen him up close and watched him spar a lot of rounds, I think Tyson Fury’s level of boxing is absolutely incredible.
"I can’t say enough great things about him. To see what Francis Ngannou did to him is mind-blowing for somebody like me.
"Now I’m really high on Francis Ngannou’s boxing level. I think he’s brilliant and has a chance against anybody.
"If he can do what he did against Tyson Fury, he has a chance against anybody.
"When you’re talking about two power punchers in him and Anthony Joshua, I’m going to be absolutely glued to the TV.
"It’s going to be incredible, and I wouldn’t be surprised how it goes either way inside the distance."
Meanwhile, Fury is preparing for his undisputed clash against Usyk, which takes place in Riyadh on May 18.
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Tyson Fury was given big problems by Francis Ngannou on his boxing debut
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Aspinall does not think the cut sustained by Fury in training will have a big impact on the fight.
He said: "Not much, it won’t have much of an impact. As soon as the cut is healed you are good to go, no problem.
"You might have to be careful with sparring but if he gets the right sparring partners, he’ll be fine.
"Tyson has fought a million fights anyways and has sparred a million rounds so he doesn’t need to spar that much either way.
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will fight in Saudi Arabia on March 8
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"As long as he keeps that cut safe, he’ll be good to go so no problem.
"The cut looked quite big but I’m sure the guy is worth millions, so he’ll be seeing the best doctors in the world, and they’ll be giving him the right advice.
"If the doctors are saying it is fine for the May date, then I’m sure that’s sound advice from his side."
