Organizers of Anthony Joshua V Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight boxing clash have confirmed that the bout will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.
The Anthony Joshua V Francis Ngannou bout will take place on a Friday to avoid a clash with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which is set to take place in Jeddah on Saturday, March 9.
A few weeks ago, 34-year-old Joshua, was downplaying his desire to fight Ngannou, who is known to be a former UFC champion. However, after Joseph Parker defeated Deontay Wilder, the Nigerian-born British boxer changed his focus to the Cameroonian boxer.
Joshua is also looking forward to competing for the IBF title if it becomes vacant following the undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, hence, his bout with Ngannou is a step to achieving that.
Ngannou is a significant underdog against the two-time heavyweight champion of the world. However, Joshua chose to fight the Cameroonian-born American fighter instead of Parker to minimize the risk of losing according to most boxing pundits.
Aside from that, the Anthony Joshua V Francis Ngannou bout is seen as a bigger way to end the “Riyadh Season” which started last summer.
Recall that the 37-year-old former UFC champion didn’t make his professional boxing debut until October when he faced Tyson Fury and lost by a close margin.
The boxing world was shocked last year when Fury, who had never lost a bout, was knocked down by a left hook from the Cameroonian.
The 35-year-old British fighter, Fury, will take on Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 in an attempt to become the first heavyweight champion to win all boxing titles undefeated since 1999.
Note that the 36-year-old Usyk is the current WBA, WBO, and IBF champion; while Fury is the WBC champion.
