WATCH: Anthony Joshua shows immense class in first interaction with Francis Ngannou after knockout

In their first interaction after the highly anticipated heavyweight showdown, Anthony Joshua showed respect towards the former UFC heavyweight king.

The two athletes were having a chat in the ring when 'AJ' asked the Cameroonian not to quit the sport of boxing.

"You are an inspiration. Never forget that... You beat a lot of people. Don't leave boxing. Don't leave."

Check out the interaction between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou below:

After making waves with his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, Ngannou competed in his sophomore fight against Joshua on March 8. The event, which was dubbed as 'Knockout Chaos' took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Joshua started the bout on a high note and scored a knockdown against 'The Predator' in the opening round.

The 34-year-old followed it up with another knockdown in the second round and then proceeded to score a devastating knockout victory.

Ngannou later uploaded a post to his social media where he apologized to his fans and thanked them for their support.

"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."

The Cameroonian later made an appearance at the post-fight press conference where he sat beside Joshua. The two athletes had a friendly interaction there and Ngannou also spoke about the knockout loss. 'The Predator' hailed 'AJ' as a 'special' person for defeating him via knockout.

"[Anthony Joshua] was quite special because he stopped me. He did what Tyson Fury couldn't. It wasn't my day and he was just way better than me today."

After his victory on March 8, Joshua is now 28-3 as a professional boxer. Although it is not official, many believe that the 34-year-old will fight the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk in his next outing.