Follow Us on Google
Two-time world champion, Anthony Joshua looks to make a statement in March and revitalise a shot at the heavyweight belts as he faces off against ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ Francis Ngannou.
The lucrative heavyweight clash between Joshua and Ngannou is set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a reported date of March 8th.
‘AJ’ is coming off three fantastic wins during 2023 as he looks to be rising back to his best. Ngannou, on the other hand, suffered a loss on his professional debut, but that was inside a boxing ring for the first time ever against ‘The Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury. However, the result is nothing to be ashamed of; quite the opposite, in fact.
Prior to the fight, if you asked 100 boxing fans who they thought would win in October, over 90 would have put their safe money on Fury. However, what actually transpired was novice Ngannou coming out on the frontfoot to put the WBC champ down in the third round. After a surprisingly close 10-rounds, spectators were, and still are, divided on who deserved to win, with the split decision verdict from the judges just swinging Tyson’s way.
Inspirational Ngannou won the hearts of fight fans all across the world after putting up such a valiant effort against the current WBC champion, even cutting the 6”9’ giant with a punch in the second stanza, and leaving ‘The Gypsy King’ looking lost and bewildered multiple times throughout the bizarre bout. Fans are invested and intrigued to see if the Cameroonian fighter really does have what it takes to tango with the best in the business, and a matchup against Joshua allows the crossover combatant to do just that.
The former UFC heavyweight champion is known as one of the hardest hitters in all of combat sports, notorious in the MMA world for his one-punch knockout power (supposedly generating as much power as a full-speed Ford Escort). Whether the 37-year-old can carry his notoriety across to the boxing world remains to be seen. The Nevada-based fighter is still somewhat of an unknown quantity and unproven in the boxing world.
A rejuvenated ‘AJ’ fought just a few weeks ago, co-headlining the Day of Reckoning card in Riyadh to cap off three fights in 2016, the first time he has fought three times in the same year since 2016, when he first became an IBF World heavyweight champion.
He faced off against ranked contender Otto Wallin. It was expected to be the Briton’s toughest fight since his second loss to Usyk, with the Swedish southpaw well respected for being a tricky fighter.
Despite the expected difficulty, Joshua boxed impeccably in a one-sided showing. It was the best we have seen from the Watford warrior over the last couple of years. The former champion looked dangerous again, constantly walking the Swede down and picking him apart with a mixture of high and low pocket shots, and combinations, all thrown with the venom that is associated with a younger ‘AJ’.
If Joshua can carry his recent form and confidence into the prospective bout in March, I believe he will have little trouble dealing with the hard-hitting 37-year-old mixed martial artist-turned-boxer.
By no means will Ngannou be a pushover, but he is not an elite boxer from a technical standpoint. He appears to stick to very basic two and three-piece combinations working off of straight tramlines, something that will suit a venomous counterpuncher in Joshua.
In recent years the IBF governing body has become notorious for not working alongside the other major boxing organisations, and seemingly being extremely opposed to the idea of having undisputed boxing champions.
