KINGDOM ARENA, RIYADH — Skill and experience prevailed in the bout dubbed “Knockout Chaos”, with Anthony Joshua scoring a crushing second-round knockout over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The official time was 2:38.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) decked Ngannou in the opening round with a straight right and the writing was on the wall that quickly. Two more brutal rights were enough to close the show in the second and Ngannou’s dream of making it big in elite-level boxing was left in tatters.

“It is what it is,” said Joshua in understatement. “I thought it was something for the broadcasters, but when I saw [Ngannou’s fight] with Tyson Fury, I was like damn, he can fight. This doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities. He can come again.”

Ngannou started confidently and unleashed a couple of solid two-fisted attacks. With almost two minutes gone, the MMA star switched southpaw and shortly thereafter was decked by an explosive right lead. The tone of the fight had changed in an instant – the unshakeable Ngannou could be shaken.

In the second, Joshua bided his time and waited for the openings. There were many, and another massive right hand sent Ngannou flying to the canvas for a second time. It was a novice against a professional and the finish was sublime. When Ngannou crudely closed the distance with a left, he was knocked cold by a thunderous right-hand counter punch.

Joshua’s solid run of form continues. Since losing back-to-back decisions against Oleksandr Usyk, the British star has put together four wins in a row and he’s looking very sharp under the tutelage of trainer Ben Davison.

A world title fight now beckons for AJ, who wants to join the exclusive club of three-time heavyweight champions in boxing history. Only Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield (four-time champion), Lennox Lewis and Michael Moorer have ever pulled it off. Only Ali has claimed the lineal title three times.

Tyson Fury and Usyk collide on May 18 in Riyadh to decide the undisputed championship and there’s a rematch clause in place. However, the IBF has said that the winner must face mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic or be stripped of that version of the title.

If Fury-Usyk is competitive, then a direct rematch is what the boxing world would want to see – belts be damned. With that being the case, Hrgovic would fight for the vacant IBF title against the next-rated challenger who happens to be AJ.

Despite all of this, promoter Eddie Hearn told DAZN that Turki Alalshikh vowed that the AJ-Ngannou winner would face the Fury-Usyk winner. There are plenty of moving parts, so we’ll see how things play out in the coming months.