Francis Ngannou says his strong showing in his pro boxing debut against Tyson Fury has given him confidence ahead of his bout against British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, who will fight Joshua at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena, made his debut in October, losing via split decision to WBC world champion Fury in a non-title bout.
The Cameroonian-French fighter (37) almost delivered an upset when he dropped Fury to the canvas with a left hook in that fight.
"I feel confident enough, based on my training, the hard work that I put in. I think on Friday night I'm going to have the reward for the work I put in," Ngannou said.
"It [the fight against Fury] was a good experience and it definitely guided me better to have proper training. I cannot account exactly how much confidence it gives me, but it does set the temperature of the water.
"Every space I have open, I am going to hit... I am not going to leave any stone unturned and any opportunity unexplored."
Ngannou, who has a 17-3 mixed martial arts record with 12 victories by knockout, will once again be the underdog when he faces two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua, but the 34-year-old Briton said he would not make the mistake of underestimating his less-experienced opponent.
"He's been boxing. His first dream was to be a boxer, which people forget. He was part of the Cameroonian team," Joshua (27-3-0) said.
"He's been doing it from a young age. His dream was always to be a boxer. I know what I am up against, I look at all of these small details. I spar, I do my film study, all that type of stuff."
On Ngannou's prospects against Joshua, Fury said: "I didn't have a good night [in October]. I had a lot of problems, but I am not here to make excuses.
"I can’t really gauge how good or bad he was because of how poor I was. Watching the fight, that’s what I am here for. The winner of these two will get a shot at a world title from me after I’ve beat Usyk twice this year.
"If Francis wins, it sets up a massive rematch for me and Francis, but if AJ wins, it sets up a big British fight for me and him.
"For me, I have got no money on either side of them so whoever wins it is a bonus because it’s a massive fight either way providing I get through [Oleksandr] Usyk twice."
"This is the fight of the ages, nothing can compare with this. Not a show fight, not a crossover fight, not YouTube boxing, nothing." - Tyson Fury
Fury insisted he has no concerns about his recent cut jeopardising the rearranged undisputed world heavyweight title fight with Usyk, but would be willing to fight with "blood everywhere" on 18 May.
A proposed date of February 17 in Saudi Arabia had to be shelved after the British boxer suffered a "freak cut" above his right eye in sparring.
It forced the eagerly-anticipated contest to be postponed 15 days before all the heavyweight belts were set to be on the line, but Fury has dispelled fears of a repeat, insisting: "It is healing good. I am not concerned. I never was concerned about the cut. From cut date to [rearranged] fight date was 15 weeks. A cut heals in about eight or nine weeks so I had plenty of time and if the cut opens in the fight, so f*** it!
"If it opens in the fight, there will be blood everywhere and so what? Don't stop the fight. Let it continue because it’s an undisputed heavyweight championship fight. When I start camp at the end of March, I’ll be ready for sparring."
A new date of 18 May was quickly rearranged to ensure the first undisputed world heavyweight bout of the century would still take place in 2024.
Fury hit back at his critics and insisted he would beat Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, before facing the winner of Joshua versus Ngannou.
"There are so many belts on the line and nothing competes with that," WBC champion Fury said.
"This is the fight of the ages, nothing can compare with this. Not a show fight, not a crossover fight, not YouTube boxing, nothing. This is two undefeated world heavyweight championships colliding for all the belts and it hasn’t been done since whenever.
"Both guys fighting have beat everybody else so this is it. Whoever wins this fight is the best of this era regardless of what anyone’s opinion is or what anyone wants to say. Whoever wins out of me and Usyk is the best of this era."
