Just a few months after former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou shocked the world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury by knocking him to the canvas, the Cameroonian is ready for a second challenge against another British fighter, who also held the heavyweight crown, Anthony Joshua.
Back in November, Ngannou would have felt hard done by after losing the Fury fight in a controversial decision, despite knocking down the ‘Gypsy King’. Now, he has a chance to make another statement.
It is the main fight scheduled to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, which is quickly becoming the new venue for boxing’s greatest fights. Ngannou became AJ’s emergency option after his original opponent, Deontay Wilder, was knocked out by Joseph Parker and lost his chance of continuing his heavyweight title aspirations.
Joshua, on the other hand, is a two-time unified champion of the division, who lost for the second time the title to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021. Since then, he has won three consecutive bouts, all of them in 2023 in which he has shown a new, much more aggressive side.
Many expected Joshua to look for another level opponent or wait for the winner of the unification fight between Fury and Usyk. Instead, Ngannou’s strong performance allowed him to challenge for this opportunity.
When is Joshua vs Ngannou
The fight is scheduled for Friday, March 8 and the card kicks off at 10:00 ET, while the main event is scheduled to begin at 18:00 ET / 15:00 PT. It will be one of the events surrounding the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which takes place on Saturday, March 9.
The show will be held at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, which seats more than 26,000 people.
Where is the Joshua-Ngannou fight being broadcast in the USA?
The fight will be broadcasted exclusively via streaming on DAZN network.
The cost for watching this event is $69.99, while for subscribers of the platform, it is contained in the monthly subscription at a cost of $19.99 with a 12-month contract or $24.99 month-to-month.