First they arrive, then they work out.
Battle week continues in Saudi Arabia as Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou put together for his or her blockbuster heavyweight boxing pay-per-view (PPV) principal occasion this Friday night time (March 8, 2024) on DAZN (stream it right here). The winner is more likely to prime a really brief checklist of eligible title challengers in entrance of the upcoming championship showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Could.
The winner of this combat might have one thing to say about that, as properly.
“By way of the phrase ‘gimmick’ we are able to do away with that,” Joshua instructed Sky Sports activities. “By way of the entire crossover side of what boxing is, it’s not that Ngannou was a gimmick or [Tyson] Fury was a gimmick, however the entire MMA crossing over into boxing I checked out it as a gimmick, however now I can see that there are particular fighters within the MMA world that may field, and he’s considered one of them.”
“My mentality is that I’m preventing a gifted fighter, like each combat there may be large jeopardy and I’ve acquired to take it severely,” Joshua continued. “Lots of people say he received the [Fury] combat and I assumed this can be a nice problem for me as a result of I want to determine extra about myself, if it’s not a problem then I’m going to stay to what I do know finest and I’m going to remain in my consolation zone.”
Ngannou, three years older than Joshua at 37, shocked the boxing neighborhood along with his commanding efficiency towards Tyson Fury final Oct. in Riyadh. The loss established “The Predator” — now listed within the WBC heavyweight rankings — as a significant participant within the “candy science” and additional delayed his PFL MMA debut.
For way more on Ngannou’s upcoming combat towards Joshua in Riyadh click on right here.
