Battle between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou set for March in Saudi Arabia

Another big boxing bout is scheduled for Francis Ngannou, the former heavyweight champion of the UFC. Ngannou will take against Anthony Joshua, the two-time heavyweight boxing world champion, this time. On March 8, a 10-round heavyweight bout is scheduled to occur in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Promoter Eddie Hearn announced on Friday that Francis will take against Anthony Joshua, the two-time heavyweight boxing champion in the world. Ariel Helwani broke the story of the 10-round heavyweight bout first, quoting Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s head of general authority for entertainment.

Ngannou has only fought once professionally, in late October, when he knocked down Tyson Fury before losing in a split decision to the defending WBC heavyweight champion. Ngannou (0-1) departed the UFC in early 2023 and announced his intention to pursue a career in boxing. Many questioned whether a major “money fight” was on the table, but Ngannou proved them wrong when he got a professional contest against Tyson Fury.

Although Ngannou was defeated by Fury in a split decision, his competitive effort and knockdown earned him accolades and admiration from numerous combat sports groups. Many fans even went so far as to suggest Ngannou had won the bout.

Despite his points loss to Joseph Parker in December, which ruined hopes of the American fighting Joshua on that date, Deontay Wilder might be on the same card. Zhilei Zhang’s management has stated that negotiations for a fight versus Wilder are underway.

Last month, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder stepped into the ring as the main and co-main event for a major boxing PPV to cap off the Saudi monarchy’s year of sports-washing efforts. Unfortunately, after long being billed as a dream bout for fans, Joshua and Wilder did not square off. Instead, they took part in their own Ngannou-Fury-style warm-up battles, which were meant to set them up for a showdown in 2024.

Anthony Joshua won his via TKO when Otto Wallin failed to answer the bell for the sixth round. Wilder, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Parker nearly completely overpowered the American in the ring, taking the ‘Bronze Bomber’s best shots and made him pay for an underlying lack of production and structure in his game.

Usyk and WBC champion Tyson Fury are set to face battle in an undisputed contest on February 17 in Saudi Arabia. Following the first Fury-Usyk bout, a two-fight rematch is planned, and the IBF title is expected to become vacant. Hrgovic is the IBF’s mandatory challenger. Fighting for the vacant IBF championship between him and Joshua has become a very real possibility.

For Ngannou (0-1), the fight is another chance to show that leaving the UFC in early 2023 was a wise decision. He has accomplished the seemingly impossible by securing a big-money boxing battle against Tyson Fury, which he lost by split decision in Riyadh on Oct. 28.

Fury stated that he takes the bout seriously. Fury, the WBC and lineal heavyweight champion, made a wise decision. Ngannou looked competitive throughout the fight and made headlines when he knocked out Fury in the third round. After all was said and done, several supporters claimed Ngannou had won the bout.

It was a win-win situation for Ngannou, who received the largest payout of his career. After quitting the UFC to join with the Professional Fighters League, despite an offer from UFC president Dana White that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight in the promotion’s history, he achieved success. Ngannou is now making money as a boxer, and he looks to be looking forward to the next stage in his career.