Friday the 8th of March see’s boxing superstar Anthony “AJ” Joshua take on the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou
The latest instalment of the Riyadh Season see’s the Heavyweights back on top of the card. Anthony Joshua (27-3) is back to winning ways and with a long awaited Undisputed fight in his sights. He cannot afford to be distracted by the man mountain Francis Ngannou, who himself if he beats AJ finds himself in contention for a tip at the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship, only this time in a new discipline.
Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist has faced some tribulations in his career. But his next fight could be the biggest banana skin of all. Anthony Joshua first became a World Champion in 2016. Beating Charles Martin in his first defence of his IBF title with a spectacular knockout in the second round. Joshua went on to beat Wladimir Klitschko (64-5) by 11th round knockout in a fight for the ages. Before finally cruising to a points decision over popular kiwi fighter Joseph Parker.
Anthony Joshua appeared to be unstoppable, that was until he met Andy Ruiz (35-2) at Madison Square Garden. A late replacement for the ever so controversial Jarrell Miller (26-1-1). Ruiz climbed off the canvas in the third round, to put AJ down several times until the referee waved off the fight in the seventh round. His first appearance in Saudi Arabia saw him regain the Unified Heavyweight Championship beating Andy Ruiz with a 12 round shutout.
Following a knockout of Kubrat Pulev (30-3) AJ never one to shy away from a mandatory challenger. Faced off against Oleksander Usyk (21-0). The Ukrainian defeated him in a wide points victory. With Joshua hoping to become a three time heavyweight champion, he took Usyk on in an immediate rematch, but was defeated again although in a much closer fight.
Mindset
The second defeat to Usyk saw AJ lose his usual cool calmness, throwing the belts out of the ring and ranting down the microphone. After this defeat it wasn’t only AJ that faced criticism but his corner did too. Since then he has worked with various different trainers. Most recently and most surprisingly, Ben Davison. Davison is the former trainer of Tyson Fury and is credited to his come back following a hiatus from the sport. Joshua has since regained his confidence and this has shown through his recent performances. In his last outing AJ battered Otto Wallin into submission. With the Swede failing to make it out of the corner at the end of the 7th round.
The change of trainers have also come with a change of styles, which led to AJ facing huge criticism from fighters and pundits alike calling him “Gun-shy” with some even going as far to call for his retirement. With two back to back knockout victories it certainly appears that the former champion has had a return to form. If boxing fans were asked twelve months ago, who do they see winning in a fight between Joshua vs Ngannou. You would have being laughed at. But the last quarter of 2023 saw the boxing world turned on its head.
Ngannou
Francis Ngannou the former UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world, took on two time heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1) A fight in which many were calling a mismatch and Fury was expected to win the fight ease. Ngannou on the other hand had other ideas and gave Fury nightmares, sending the Champion to the canvas only to lose a very controversial decision. With the split favouring Fury.
Following this fight there were immediate calls for Joshua to face off against Ngannou. With both Eddie Hearn and Francis himself confirming that the fight had been discussed previously. AJ turned down the fight as he saw it as a “gimmick” fight and was only interested in fighting serious fight that can lead to a third world championship. Rather ironically, if AJ beats Ngannou on Friday night he is set for a chance to become Undisputed, as does Ngannou it what would be his third professional fight.
The fight itself promises to be a spectacular affair with both fighters aiming for a knockout. It is unlikely this fight see’s the final bell.
The Main Card
Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou is the main event of the latest stacked card from Riyadh Season and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. Former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker takes on Zhilei Zhang as the chief support to AJ vs Ngannou. Parker won almost every round in his last outing against feared knockout artist Deontay Wilder. Which also featured as chief support to Joshua. Parker threw a spanner in the works for a prospective fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. A win against Zhang will almost certainly put him back in the top 5 current heavyweights.
Zhang, no stranger to causing an upset is not one to be taken lightly. Coming off two spectacular knockout victories over 2016 Olympic silver medallist and the highly touted Joe “Juggernaut,” Joyce. The Chinese heavyweight is brimming with confidence and has made no secret of his desire to revenge his London 2012 Olympic quarter final defeat to Joshua.
Queensbury fighter Nick Ball makes his first attempt at world title. When he takes on two-weight world champion Rey Vargas for the WBC Featherweight title. Ball is currently undefeated and has rose up the ranks following a series of impressive displays, most recently against Issac Dogboe where he outpointed with ease. Vargas is a veteran of the sport and this will be his eighth title fight. Compare this to Ball and we have a classic new blood vs old guard fight on the card. The first fight on the main card features Mark Chamberlain vs Gavin Gwynne. With both fighters being European Champions, Gwynne won the EBU title in his last outing and Chamberlain winning the IBF European title in 2022. This makes for an interesting opener from the two lightweights.
The Undercard
If the fights previously mentioned weren’t enough there is stacked undercard which features prospects from around the world. Jack McGann takes on Louis Greene. Local fighter Ziyad Almaayouf is set to fight Christian Lopez Flores. Tyson Furys younger heavyweight brother Roman Fury will fight Martin Svare. Ukrainian fighter Andrii Novytskyi fights Juan Torres and topping the undercard is Justi Huni vs Kevin Lerena.
Where to watch:
Knockout Chaos will be available to buy on Pay Per View from Sky Sports Box Office and DAZN in the UK. Available on DAZN PPV worldwide. With coverage scheduled to start at 3pm and Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou due to make their ring walks shortly before 10pm.
Who wins Anthony Joshua or Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
