Anthony Joshua takes on Francis Ngannou in a eagerly-anticipated 10 round boxing bout in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Ngannou steps foot in a boxing ring for just the second time as a professional when he faces former two-time unified heavyweight world champion, Joshua at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The ex-UFC heavyweight champion shook up the boxing landscape when he dramatically dropped WBC titlist, Tyson Fury on debut back in October before losing out on a contentious split decision, although his performance earned him a top 10 ranking with the WBC.
‘AJ’ banked three wins in a very productive 2023, outpointing Jermaine Franklin last April in his comeback fight following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, before stopping both Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, in his most recent outing in December, also in Riyadh.
A victory for either could lead to a shot at the winner of Fury and Usyk, who lock horns for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18, whilst defeat, especially for Joshua would be catastrophic.
The undercard features two world title fights with Britain’s Nick Ball looking to dethrone WBC featherweight champion, Rey Vargas and the vacant WBA super welterweight title is up for grabs between Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov.
In what could be the fight of the night, Zhilei Zhang faces Joseph Parker, with the latter coming off a remarkable upset win over Deontay Wilder in December.
Joshua vs Ngannou – How To Watch The Fight
- The fight will be broadcast on both Sky Sports Box Office (£19.95) and DAZN pay-per-view (£19.99) in the UK.
- Viewers outside of the UK can watch the fight on DAZN pay-per-view ($39.99).
Joshua vs Ngannou – What Time Are They In The Ring?
- Joshua and Ngannou are expected in the ring at 11pm GMT (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET).
Joshua vs Ngannou – Last Three Fights
Anthony Joshua
- Anthony Joshua bt Otto Wallin – 5th round RTD
- Anthony Joshua bt Robert Helenius – 7th round KO
- Anthony Joshua bt Jermaine Franklin – UD
Francis Ngannou
- Tyson Fury bt Francis Ngannou – SD
- Francis Ngannou bt Cyril Gane – UD
- Francis Ngannou bt Stipe Miocic – 2nd round KO
Joshua vs Ngannou – Undercard
- Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker – heavyweight
- Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball – featherweight
- Israil Madrimov vs Magomed Kurbanov – super welterweight
- Mark Chamberlain vs Gavin Gwynne – lightweight
- Justis Huni vs Kevin Lerena – heavyweight
- Jack McGann vs Louis Greene – super welterweight
- Roman Fury vs Martin Svarc – heavyweight
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs Christian Lopez Flores – super lightweight
- Andrii Novytskyi vs Juan Torres – heavyweight
Joshua vs Ngannou – What’s Been Said?
“His first dream was to be a boxer which people forget,” Joshua said during Thursday’s press conference.
“He was part of the Cameroonian team. He started MMA I think was it 24 or 26?
“So that wasn’t the first time he started hitting the heavy bag or hitting pads. He’s been doing it from a young age.
“His dream was to always be a boxer, so I know what I’m up against. I look at all of these small details.
“I spar, I do my film study, all that type of stuff. I keep it professional.
“On the night is on the night. That’s different.
“All of that textbook stuff goes out of the window, you’ve just got to be relentless and give it your best.
“It’s already written in the stars what’s going to happen and I’m just going to follow my destiny.”
“I’m not going to leave any stone unturned and any opportunity unexplored,” Ngannou said during Thursday’s press conference.
“AJ had a flawless performance against Wallin in December.
It was a great performance, I watched that fight closely. For me, that doesn’t do anything because I know I’m not Wallin.
“I know it’s going to be a different round, it’s going to be a different opening, a different feeling.”
