Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
Anthony Joshua will take on Francis Ngannou in a 10-round boxing fight, according to reports.
The heavyweight contest is said to be a “done deal” and will be scheduled for March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to MMA Junkie.
There will be a press conference later this month in London to confirm the news, says Ariel Helwani, who was informed about the match-up by Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi adviser and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority.
Anthony Joshua, meanwhile, arrives on the back of a TKO victory over Otto Wallin, which made it three wins from three in 2023.
This news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given Eddie Hearn’s comments earlier this week. AJ’s promoter said a fight between Joshua and Ngannou would be “absolutely colossal”.
“So right now we have three fights that we’re in discussions for,” Hearn told iFL TV. “They’re all big and that doesn’t involve Deontay Wilder for March.
“Our aim, and we’ve expressed this, is to fight the winner of Fury-Usyk. That’s all we want to do. Obviously, there’s the [Filip] Hrgovic fight out there for the world heavyweight title.
“There’s a Francis Ngannou fight out there, which would be absolutely colossal. There’s other heavyweights as well. The [Zhilei] Zhang fight possibly as well with Queensbury.”
Hearn added: “[Joseph] Parker, yeah, possibly. It’s difficult. We fought Parker, beat him, unified against him, it was five years ago whatever it was, but Joseph’s definitely earned the right for a big fight. He’s just beaten Deontay Wilder, so we don’t rule that out either.”
Anthony Joshua’s former trainer Robert Garcia believes AJ would score an easy victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou.
“It’s an easy fight for Joshua. Those fights shouldn’t even be sanctioned,” Garcia told ES NEWS.
“Ngannou, fighting the heavyweight champion of the world, Fury, it shouldn’t have been sanctioned. It’s a disrespect to boxing not to train one single day for that fight. It was embarrassing.”
News
Max Verstappen launches impassioned defence of his father amid ongoing Christian Horner scandal as world champion insists Jos is ‘not a liar’ after he called for the Red Bull chief to quit
Max Verstappen today made an impassioned defence of his father Jos, telling the world: ‘He’s not a liar.’ The triple world champion was responding to Verstappen Snr’s incendiary comments in Mail Sport on Sunday, in which he said Red Bull would…
REVEALED: Travis Kelce gained the second-most Instagram followers among sports stars in 2023 amid his Taylor Swift romance, while LSU’s Angel Reese came third… but who beat the Chiefs star to the crown?
Travis Kelce‘s Instagram following jumped by more than three million in 2023, owing to his relationship with Taylor Swift. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end has been at the summit of the NFL for a number of years and, as a result, enjoyed…
Francis Ngannou tells Tyson Fury ‘I will beat you every day and twice on Sunday!’ in a heated encounter at the pre-fight press conference with Anthony Joshua(Video)
Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury shared a very tense exchange of words on Wednesday night, with the latter in attendance for the press conference ahead of the former’s clash with Anthony Joshua on Friday night. Joshua and Ngannou will take centre stage later this week in…
Amir Khan stuns fans with ‘very strange’ video of himself rubbing Mike Tyson’s hands
Amir Khan stuns fans with ‘very strange’ video of himself rubbing Mike Tyson’s hands Published Oct 29, 2023, 14:23:17 GMTLast updated Oct 29, 2023, 14:23:14 GMT Amir Khan has raised eyebrows among boxing fans after posting a bizarre video of himself rubbing…
Francis Ngannou could fight Deontay Wilder in a ‘mixed rules’ bout in 2024, would take place in a cage
Francis Ngannou could fight Deontay Wilder in a ‘mixed rules’ bout in 2024, would take place in a cage Francis Ngannou vs Deontay Wilder could take place next year. Published Oct 31, 2023, 13:52:29 GMTLast updated Oct 31, 2023, 13:52:28 GMT Francis…
Anthony Joshua promises ‘all-out war, relentlessness and a good fight’ when he takes on Francis Ngannou… as ex-UFC star insists he will ‘leave everything in the ring’ before heated exchange with Tyson Fury (Video)
Anthony Joshua insisted that he will be bringing ‘relentlessness’ in his Friday fight with Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia at Wednesday night’s press conference ahead of the fight. The British heavyweight star faces the former UFC icon on Friday night as he looks to continue momentum following an impressive…
End of content
No more pages to load