We’ll see two talented boxers go at it when Anthony Joshua meets up with Francisc Ngannou in the ring on March 8thin Saudi Arabia. Joshua is a former unified world heavyweight champion, while Ngannou is a former UFC star that held his own in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury. It feels like there’s no question this will be an entertaining bout.
Anthony Joshua Is Prepared For This Bout
Joshua hasn’t been out in the ring since December 23rd. That fight saw him take on Otto Wallin and completely dominate from start to finish. He racked up a TKO on the co-main event and improved his overall record to 27-3 with 24 knockouts. There’s a reason that he was a former world heavyweight champ. Of course, Joshua has his sights set on getting back a title, but he’s going to have to wait for a few other fights to play out first. In the meantime, Ngannou is all that’s on his mind.
Francis Ngannou Is Looking To Build Upon Boxing Debut
Speaking of, many weren’t sure how Ngannou’s skillset would transfer over to boxing. After all, he was a former UFC superstar, and the transition isn’t always easy. However, we got a glimpse of his potential in his boxing debut, when they matched him up with WBC champ Tyson Fury.
The fight went back and forth before Fury was awarded a decision victory, though it didn’t come without controversy. There were tons of fans that believed Ngannou was the better fighter that day, even knocking Fury down once early on. While that doesn’t matter anymore, he proved that he could handle the boxing scene and is hoping for more.
This won’t be a cakewalk for Joshua in any way, and Joe Joyce made that very clear leading up to the fight. Joyce used to be Ngannou’s sparring partner in 2020, and he openly warned Joshua about letting his guard down and overlooking his opponent here. Joyce said, “If he lands one of those big shots like he hit Furry with then I don’t think Joshua’s going to get up from that.
He boxed really well against Fury. It’s an amazing story. Reached the heights of UFC and then challenged arguably the best in Tyson Furry and gave him a run for his money. He’s a bit of a wild card.” Joshua will need to be prepared to keep his three-fight winning streak alive.
