Anthony Joshua faces Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight showdown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, and here’s how to watch the fight.
After shocking the boxing world with his performance against Tyson Fury last year, Ngannou hasn’t opted to take an easy route into the sport as he’ll be a huge underdog once again going in with Joshua this time round.
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That’s a 0-1 professional record going up against a two-time heavyweight champion of the world in Joshua who has gone 27-3 over his career, but given the nature of heavyweight boxing, all that may well go out the window when these two giants step into the ring on Friday.
Both men have the power to turn the lights off at any given moment, and so despite the lack of experience and pedigree on Ngannou’s part in boxing, it remains a hugely fascinating fight that will be watched by millions around the world.
For Ngannou, it’s a chance to build on his performance against Fury and show that it wasn’t a fluke, and instead prove that he deserves to be regarded among the top heavyweight boxers in the world after a brilliant MMA career.
In contrast, Joshua knows that a win here sets up a world title fight further down the line, as he eyes the winner of Fury’s clash with Oleksandr Usyk in May. The Brit may have to bide his time, but ultimately that is what he’ll be setting his sights on beyond this one.
He’ll know though following Fury’s near-disaster against Ngannou that he can’t take his eye off the assignment in front of him, and so coupled with his superior technical ability, punch power and experience going up against elite-level boxers throughout his career, we’re very confident that he avoids similar drama and gets the job done.
If both men throw leather, it could be done early. However, they’ll no doubt be wary of each other’s power, and that could lead to a cagey opening at least. That said, we’re going with a Joshua win via TKO in rounds 7-9, with Ngannou starting to feel the pace of the fight and tiring, thus opening the door for Joshua to find the finish.
Where to watch Joshua vs Ngannou
The fight will be shown on both DAZN PPV and Sky Sports Box Office in the UK, while it’s available on DAZN PPV in the US and globally.
Joshua vs Ngannou date, start time
- Date: Friday, March 8
- Start time: 4 p.m. UK / 11 a.m. ET
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 10:50 p.m. UK / 5:50 p.m. ET
Joshua vs Ngannou fight card
- Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou; Heavyweight
- Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker; For Zhang’s WBO interim heavyweight title
- Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball; For Vargas’ WBC featherweight title
- Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov; For the vacant WBA super welterweight title
- Gavin Gwynne vs. Mark Chamberlain; Lightweight
- Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena; Heavyweight
- Jack McGann vs. Louis Green; Light middleweight
- Roman Fury vs. Martin Svarc; Heavyweight
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Christian Lopez Flores; Super lightweight
- Andrii Novytski vs. Juan Torres; Heavyweight
