Anthony Joshua takes the next step in a journey that he hopes will return him to the very peak of the heavyweight division this evening as he faces former UFC superstar Francis Ngannous in a 10-round bout in Riyadh.
His defeat of Otto Wallin in this same arena in December was the most convincing performance of Joshua’s career since he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in December 2020 and led many to wonder whether a tilt at a world title would soon be incoming.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have business to attend to first before that question can be answered and in the intervening period, Joshu has opted to face off against a dangerous opponent in Ngannou.
The one-time UFC heavyweight champion gave Fury all he could handle when the pair met in October last year, even sending the WBC heavyweight champion to the canvas before losing via a split decision.
That performance did plenty to underline Ngannou’s credentials as a boxer and make tonight’s fight far from just the money-making spectacle many assumed the Fursy-Ngannou fight would amount to.
“They spoke about this fight before and I said: ‘No, it’s a gimmick,’” Joshua said of the 10-round boxing bout. “It’s not something I thought was right, crossing over when I’m chasing heavyweight glory. But when they saw what happened with Ngannou against Fury, this opportunity presented itself again. I never turn down a challenge and we can now get rid of the word ‘gimmick’.
“I looked at MMA crossing over into boxing as a gimmick. But I can now see certain MMA fighters can box – and he’s [Ngannou] one of them. I see him as someone who is serious about boxing. When I saw his fight with Fury I thought: ‘He knows what he’s doing, he can handle himself.’ Lots of people say he won that fight and I thought this is a great challenge for me because I need to figure out more about myself.”
The undercard in Riyadh is already well underway and we will bring updates throughout the evening, with the main event scheduled to get started around 11.30pm.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
