Joe Joyce predicted Francis Ngannou could knock out Dillian Whyte before Alexander Povetkin stopped ‘The Bodysnatcher’ with vicious KO

Joe Joyce backed Francis Ngannou to knock out Dillian Whyte just two months before Alexander Povetkin upset the odds and stopped ‘The Bodysnatcher’.

Whyte will get his chance to exact revenge at the ‘Rumble on the Rock’ this Saturday night in Gibraltar when he faces the dangerous Russian for the second time.

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Back in August, Povetkin recovered from two knockdowns to summon a devastating left uppercut which rendered Whyte completely unconscious.

It was a dangerous fight which the Brit did not have to take, yet his desire to prove himself and challenge for world honours led him to face the 2004 Olympian.

Prior to that, there were talks about a potential cross over bout between Whyte and UFC heavyweight title contender Ngannou.

‘The Predator’ also fights this weekend and hopes to dethrone reigning champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 and spent some time sparring with Joyce during the summer last year.

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As well as having a ‘violent sparring war’, the two men gained a tremendous amount of respect for one another.

Joyce, who is himself undefeated and targeting a bout with Oleksandr Usyk, predicted the Cameroonian could knock out the Brixton-native in the ring just two months before Povetkin’s incredible upset.

“Francis can bang, he is very strong,” Joyce told . “I mean, who knows, he could knock Dillian Whyte out man.

“Dillian Whyte is obviously tough and he has done more boxing, but he has done kickboxing as well.

“Maybe they could do one each? He could probably do a bit of UFC as well!”

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“The thing with UFC is, it’s so many disciplines that you have to train for,” he added.

“You have to have a good stand-up game – which involves boxing and kickboxing – and then you have to have a good ground game.

“So wrestling, jiu-jitsu and your body is more well-rounded for actual fighting. Boxing is just, obviously a lot more simple, but it’s the sweet science.

“It is more refined because you’re only using your hands; your footwork, your head movement, punch techniques and variety of punches has to be greater than UFC.”