Francis Ngannou apologizes in brief immediate statement after stunning loss to Anthony Joshua - "Bad day in the office"

Earlier today, Francis Ngannou suffered a brutal second-round knockout loss to the former two-time unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in their highly publicized boxing spectacle at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. 'The Predator' has now put out a brief statement addressing the setback.

In a post X, Ngannou apologized to his fans for the disappointing showing, writing:

"Sorry guys, I let you all down 😔 Today was a bad day in the office, but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love. ❤️"

While the MMA star started his fight against 'AJ' fight fairly competitively, the difference in their levels as pugilists became apparent as the Brit floored the former UFC star in their opening round.

However, the Cameroonian survived the count and returned for round two, where he was quickly dispatched by 'AJ', who once again put him on the canvas before shutting his lights out with a powerful right hand as the fight restarted.

The loss might have essentially put a halt to Ngannou's plans to set up a title fight rematch against Tyson Fury. However, the high-profile win has turned 'AJ's' fortunes around.

Following the stellar knockout, 'The Gypsy King' stated that he would be interested in taking on the Englishman after his undisputed title fight obligations against Oleksandr Usyk.

Ngannou is currently 0-2 in boxing, while Joshua has improved his record to 28-3 with the win over the MMA star.

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Anthony Joshua advises Francis Ngannou not to give up boxing

Francis Ngannou hadn't ever been finished in his combat sports career up until being knocked out cold by Anthony Joshua at Riyadh. Knowing that such a setback can be tough on an individual 'AJ' made sure to encourage his foe not to give up on the sweet science.

After Ngannou recovered from the KO, Joshua approached the MMA icon in the ring and told him:

"You are an inspiration. You'll beat a lot of people. Don't leave boxing. Don't leave, do it. Don't leave boxing, you know."

Catch Anthony Joshua's advice to Francis Ngannou below:

While 'The Predator' had entered the WBC's top 10 following his closely contested fight against Tyson Fury, now that he is 0-2 in the sport and with his latest loss coming via KO, it might not be far-fetched to see the MMA star drop out of the top 10.