Francis Ngannou had perhaps the best loss in a professional debut boxing has ever seen. Then he faced Anthony Joshua.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was knocked out cold in just two rounds by the former unified heavyweight champion, who proved to be much more of a problem for Ngannou than WBC champion Tyson Fury had in October.
Ngannou entered that Fury match as a heavy underdog against the champion — one promoter called the matchup "a disgrace" — but he differentiated himself from the many MMA fighters-turned-boxers with a performance that wouldn't have looked out of place from a seasoned heavyweight contender.