Joshua vs. Ngannou Preview
The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will feature a powerful night of boxing on Friday, March 8th. Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will battle former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Joshua has won three straight fights since his departure from being a champion and he most recently defeated Otto Wallin by fifth round TKO in December. The 34-year-old had seven title defenses and key wins over Kubrat Pulev, Andy Ruiz Jr, Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker, Wladimir Klitschko, Eric Molina and Charles Martin.
The former champion knows a potential fight with current WBC champion Tyson Fury could be on the horizon with a win. “All will be revealed,” Joshua commented.
He continued, “Just straight-out war, relentless, a good fight. That’s what everyone is here for, a good fight.”
The English fighter concluded, “I spar, I do my film study, all that type of stuff. I keep it professional.
“But on the night is on the night. That’s different. All that textbook stuff goes out the window. You’ve just got to be relentless, give it your best. It’s already written in the stars what’s going to happen, I’m just going to follow my destiny.”
Fury has a scheduled fight in May with the man who took Joshua’s WBA (super), IBF, WBO, IBO titles Oleksandr Usyk. While the boxing world has long awaited a showdown between Fury and Joshua as they are bitter rivals, Fury will have his hands full with Usyk. Joshua has lost to Usyk twice, so should Usyk defeat Fury will we see Joshua vs. Usyk 3?
While Joshua looked to be back to his old form in his last fight, many across the boxing world feel taking this fight with Ngannou was a bad move by on his part. Former super-middleweight champion Carl Froch who was trained with Joshua, does not see a positive outcome for his friend and mentor.
“If he hits AJ on the chin like [he did against Fury], AJ gets caught, he stays hurt, he takes ages to recover. He blew a gasket against Pulev. He was boxing, moving doing well then he needed four or five rounds off before he got the job done,” said Froch.
“He won’t have that time with Ngannou. Ngannou will put him on it, it’s only 10 round fight. It’s kind of like an exhibition, which is why it’s dangerous for AJ. He needs to go in there and get it won and earn his money, which is the only reason he’s doing it.
“AJ is trying to get this undisputed fight with the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, but that’s still going to be there for him, so this is potentially a real bad move if it goes wrong for him, as it could be the end of his career.”
Francis Ngannou made his professional boxing debut last October against the best heavyweight of his generation Tyson Fury. He shocked the world by knocking down Fury in the third round of the fight, but Fury would go on to win a razor thin split-decision. Many pundits believe Ngannou won the fight.
It was argued that Ngannou would get outclassed having come from MMA against a technician like Fury, but he was not outmatched and proved he belongs among the top of the heavyweight ranks. Many questions were asked about the fight. Did Ngannou strike lighting or did Fury not take the fight seriously? Ngannou now once again has the chance to use his punching power to shock the world twice against Joshua. There were many unknowns about how Ngannou would look in the ring against a fighter as skilled as Fury, so if he was taken lightly by Fury, Joshua will not make that same mistake.
Ngannou is confident heading into just his second pro fight against one of the best in the world. "Everything is a clue. I mean, every space that I have an opening, I'm going to hit. So, don't you worry about where is the key or the clue, so I'm not going to let any stone unturned and any opportunity unexplored,” said Ngannou.
While the Cameroonian fighter has appeared to be focused on Joshua, he also seems to have his sights set on a rematch with Fury, who interrupted the fight press conference on Wednesday. Directed at Fury, “You’re going to sleep in the [ring] again and I’m going to wipe the ring with your ass again,” Ngannou said. “You wiped the ring with your ass, that was the blood in the ring sticking to your pants.”
He concluded the back and forth by saying, “I tell you, your only chance is in the ring with the boxing rules,” Ngannou said. “When you step off of that ring, you better stay five meters away before you talk your s*** because if I lose it, you’re going to have a really bad time, my friend.
“Respect the fact that boxing is protecting us and the rules of boxing are protecting us because without that, you are nothing in front of me. I would beat you every day, twice on Sunday.”
A second heavyweight title fight will be showcased on the card. Interim WBO champion Zhilei Zhang will defend his title against former champion Joseph Parker.
Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KO) is coming off two straight wins over Joe Joyce in which he won and defended the WBO interim title. His last fight came against Joyce in September, and he had the most impressive performance of his career finishing Joyce in three rounds.
The Chinese Fighter believes this fight with Parker will lead to big things in the heavyweight division. “The fight with Parker is one I have wanted for some time. We both had big years, and his win over [Deontay] Wilder was very impressive. Whoever wins deserves a title shot for sure,” said Zhang.
Zhang dominated Joe Joyce who dominated his current opponent Parker, but he does not believe that will matter come fight night. “Boxing doesn’t work in a way where if you beat someone who beat someone, then you are sure to beat the man that your former opponent beat,” he said. “It is all about styles, and there are a lot of examples of this through the history of boxing.”
The two previously met as amateurs where Zhang won on points, but he believes things have changes for both fighters. “I did beat him to the points,” he said. “I don’t have much to say because it was amateur boxing and I was about 28 and he was even younger. A lot has changed in 13 years. Our styles developed. Professional boxing is also a different sport.
“I’m happy we both got to the top through the years. I believe we will be performing to our best ability on March 8.”
Zhang has an idea of who he wants to fight should he defeat Parker. “Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are the two guys I would like to share the ring with most,” he said. “I think I’ve earned that right and if I beat Parker, I think I should have a big opportunity like that sooner than later.”
Parker has won four straight fights and his most recent unanimous decision win over former champion Deontay Wilder earned him comeback of the year in 2023. The 32-year-old is the former WBO champion and he defended the belt twice before he lost it to Joshua in 2018.
The New Zealander talked about facing the power of Zhang. “ I will have to be very focused and very alert because Zhang in bursts and throws good, sharp, combinations, said Parker.
“It’s all about being smart, not being predictable and showing just different things that we’ve been working on in camp.”
Parker vows to be at his best this time around against Zhang. “I’m going to give it everything I have, and whatever the result, I know I’ve done everything leading into this fight perfect, the eating, the resting, the training.
I have the right people around me and I’m ready to put on the performance of my life.”
Aside from Wilder, Parker has key wins over Derek Chisora (twice) and former champion Andy Ruiz Jr. The boxing world believes he is fighting the boogeyman of the heavyweight division on Friday, if he walks away with the win, it will be the biggest of his career.
The rest of the card:
Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball, 12 rounds, for Vargas' WBC featherweight title
Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov, 12 rounds, for the vacant WBA "super" junior middleweight title
Mark Chamberlain vs. Gavin Gwynne, 12 rounds, lightweights
Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena, 10 rounds, heavyweights
Jack McGann vs. Louis Greene, 10 rounds, junior middleweights
Andrii Novytskyi vs. Juan Torres, 8 rounds, heavyweights
Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Christian Lopez, 6 rounds, junior welterweights
Roman Fury vs. Martin Svarc, 4 rounds, cruiserweights
