Francis Ngannou didn’t get the win in his first trip to the professional boxing ring, but that didn’t stop the former UFC heavyweight champion from shocking the world. Ngannou, who dropped Tyson Fury en route to losing a narrow split decision, returns to the ring to face another former world champion when he takes on Anthony Joshua on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou was a bruising striker in mixed martial arts, smashing through the competition to become UFC champion before leaving the promotion amid a contract dispute over both financial aspects and Ngannou’s desire to test himself in the boxing ring. Very few gave Ngannou a chance against Fury in their October 2023 meeting given, even in MMA, he was not the most technical striker.
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Against Fury, Ngannou showed surprising technique but also a veteran’s patience to take advantage of a somewhat unfocused Fury. While he didn’t get the win, Ngannou gave Fury, the consensus best heavyweight boxer in the world, one of the toughest fights of his career, leading to a demand for Ngannou to return to the boxing ring.
“I’m getting prepared for a tough fight,” Ngannou said at the kickoff press conference. “Yes, the Tyson Fury fight was great, but that’s now in the past and I now have a new challenge in front of me, which I take even more serious now than I did before because I think there’s something more on the line, probably the undisputed [title]. Let’s see, maybe I do something that nobody has done before. I believe I have the tools, starting with a win against AJ.”
Joshua, a two-time former unified champion, is looking to cash in by being the man to take advantage of Ngannou’s public momentum.
After back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk — who will now fight Fury to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion — Joshua has rattled off wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin. That run was built around making a fight with former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, but Wilder lost to Joseph Parker on the undercard of Joshua’s win over Wallin, leaving Ngannou as Joshua’s best big money option.
“His mind is just different to everyone,” Joshua said. “Every fighter is unique in their own way, but in terms of the frame and the makeup of someone, he’s seen people like me, I’ve seen people like him many times before. It’s just his mind I’ll have to conquer in the ring. You have to take someone’s soul, you have to take their spirit, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Below is the announced fight card for the event going down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia along with how you can catch the action.
Joshua vs. Ngannou fight card, odds
- Anthony Joshua -400 vs. Francis Ngannou +300, heavyweights
- Rey Vargas (c) +138 vs. Nick Ball -160, WBC featherweight title
- Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov, vacant WBA super welterweight title
- Zhilei Zhang (c) -225 vs. Joseph Parker +170, WBO interim heavyweight title
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Gavin Gwynne, lightweights
- Andrii Novytskyi vs. Juan Torres, heavyweights
Viewing information
- Date: March 8
- Location: Kingdom Arena — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Start time: 11 a.m. ET
- How to watch: DAZN PPV | Price: $39.99 (with subscription)
Countdown
Who wins Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua, and which props paying around +400 should you be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise’s best bets for Friday, all from the CBS combat sports specialist who just called Jake Paul’s first-round win, and find out.
