Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou sign to fight in Saudi Arabia

Heavyweight stars scheduled to collide in March 8 mega event

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Less than two weeks after heavyweight star Anthony Joshua’s last fight, his next one is set. The former two-time unified heavyweight titleholder and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou have signed to face each other in a blockbuster pay-per-view event.

The fight is scheduled to take place on March 8 (a Friday) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite.

It is the latest mega boxing event being brought to the country by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, who heads Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which funds the major sports and entertainment events that take place in the country.

Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren, who the boxing events in Saudi Arabia run through, and longtime British rival Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Joshua’s promoter, will co-promote the bout and both announced it on social media Friday night.

“Confirmed: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou is signed to take place during Riyadh Season,” Queensberry Promotions posted, referring to the cultural festival that began in late October and ends in March. “Fight date and kick-off press conference details to be released next week!”

Hearn posted that the news conference will take place on Jan. 15 in London.

Joshua-Ngannou will be an official boxing match under normal rules and scheduled for 10 rounds, the source said.

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Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs), 34, of England, notched his third win of 2023 on Dec. 23 when he looked as good as he has in years, dominating and stopping Otto Wallin, whose corner ended the fight following the fifth round because he was taking so much punishment.

Deontay Wilder lost a one-sided 12-round decision to fellow former titleholder Joseph Parker in the co-feature, killing plans for a much-anticipated Joshua-Wilder showdown. That bout was signed shortly before their Dec. 23 bouts but was contingent on neither man losing.

With Wilder out of the picture for Joshua in March, Ngannou was the obvious alternative for him to have another huge money fight. Ngannou made a big impression on the Saudis and the boxing world when he made his pro boxing debut against lineal/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Oct. 28 on the opening night of Riyadh Season.

Ngannou (0-1 in boxing, 17-3, 12 KOs, 4 submissions in MMA), 37, of Cameroon, was a massive underdog but shockingly dropped Fury with a left hook in the third round and turned in an overall impressive performance in a disputed 10-round split decision loss — 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury and 95-94 for Ngannou.

Fury also got cut and looked very beatable, forcing his showdown with three-belt titlist Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship to be delayed from Dec. 23 to Feb. 17 in another massive fight that will take place in Riyadh.

While the rest of the Joshua-Ngannou card is being sorted out, WBO interim heavyweight titleholder Zhilei Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs), 40, a Chinese southpaw, will make his second defense on the show after twice knocking out Joe Joyce in 2023 to win the belt and defend it, a source told Fight Freaks Unite.

His opponent is not set but it could be Wilder, the source said, and if it not, multiple sources said Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs), 38, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, may still fight on the card but against somebody else.

There had been the possibility of Joshua next facing IBF mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs), 31, of Croatia, for the IBF title, which is expected to become vacant soon after Fury-Usyk.

But with Joshua facing Ngannou instead, Hrgovic, who scored a first-round knockout of Mark De Mori on the Dec. 23 undercard, could be headed to an eventual bout with New Zealand’s Parker (34-3, 23 KOs), 31, although not necessarily on March 8. Parker will be the next available fighter in the IBF rankings when the title becomes vacant.

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