We’ll see whether or not Anthony Joshua can get it proper.
The previous two-time heavyweight champ has agreed to face MMA star Francis Ngannou, who virtually shocked the world in a split-decision loss to present champ Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 within the Cameroonian’s boxing debut.
The ten-round struggle will happen March 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the identical web site because the Fury-Ngannou occasion.
MMA Junkie confirmed the settlement and date following an announcement from Saudi Arabia’s chairman of basic authority for leisure Turki Alalshikh by way of Ariel Helwani.
A information convention to advertise the struggle is predicted later this month in London.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) has bounced again from back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and final yr — setbacks that value him his titles and standing — by outpointing Jermain Franklin and stopping Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.
The 34-year-old from Watford, England, regarded significantly good towards Wallin, who might not struggle after 5 one-sided rounds on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua was anticipated to struggle fellow former champ Deontay Wilder in what would’ve been a large showdown on March 9 however these plans had been spoiled when Joseph Parker Jr. outpointed Wilder on the Joshua-Wallin card.
Fury and Usyk look like out of the image for Joshua in the meanwhile. The 2 are scheduled to satisfy on Feb. 17 in Riyadh for the undisputed championship and so they agreed to a two-day rematch clause.
Ngannou left the UFC in early 2023 and declared his transition into the world of boxing. Although many doubted a large “cash struggle” was on the desk, Ngannou proved the skeptics fallacious when he secured knowledgeable bout towards Fury.
Though Ngannou. 37, misplaced the bout, his aggressive effort and knockdown of Fury garnered reward and respect throughout a number of fight sports activities communities. Many viewers even went so far as to say they thought Ngannou received the struggle.
