Anthony Joshua (left) and Francis Ngannou (right) came face to face at a press conference in London on March 8, 2023. Eddie Hearn (center left) and Frank Warren (center right) observed the announcement ahead of their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
The official announcement of the fight between former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former UFC star Francis Ngannou took place in London on Monday. The two fighters met on March 8th ahead of their bout at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua’s long-time promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sports, welcomed the showdown between the two fighters, which will headline a marquee event in the Middle East.
“It’s a very exciting fight between these two giants,” Hearn told The Ring. “I’m a very confident player, but I was also confident in Callum Smith beating Artur Beterbiev. I think it’s a dangerous fight, there’s a lot of danger in a fight.
“They can all punch, and any heavyweight can get hit, dropped, or hurt. The thing about Ngannou is that he’s very powerful and very strong. you saw it against WBC titlist Tyson Fury, so you have to turn it on.
“AJ doesn’t have much to gain from this fight other than to work on Fury and do what Fury couldn’t do and beat him well.”
Matchroom bosses remain skeptical whether another mixed martial arts fighter can achieve success at the highest level simply by competing in boxing.
“I still don’t buy the idea that you can beat elite fighters just by getting into boxing. Heavyweight is different,” he said. “I support that MMA fighters below heavyweight cannot turn pro and start beating Terrence Crawford. [Jesse] bam [Rodriguez] And so on, but if you can punch and are strong, there’s always a chance. That’s why the heavyweight division is so exciting.
“AJ is definitely turned on for this fight. He knows the threat and he’s not thinking, ‘Here’s my payday.’ This is a serious fight. ”
The execution plan for the winner of the undisputed heavyweight championship between Fury appears -[Oleksandr] He will face Usyk on February 17th, and the winner of Joshua vs. Ngannou will face him later this year.
“if [Joshua] “If we knock out Ngannou or beat him well and Fury beats Usyk, the whole world will be excited about that fight,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest fight in history. It’s huge on a global scale, and I believe that Saudi Arabia will look at this fight when the time comes and say, ‘We have to do it.'”
If the Battle of Britain were to be decided, the natural venue for it would be the 100,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, the home of British sport.
But that’s not how Hearn sees things.
“Yeah, but it might never happen,” he said. “Tyson Fury is going to want some money for that fight and I will make sure AJ gets paid well for that fight.
“I don’t like the idea that we’re going to take boxing away from England and America, and I don’t agree with that. So what? Boxing isn’t allowed to go anywhere else. ‘We’ll go there because the fans aren’t as loud. Don’t you think you can’t go there? What happens if you make the fan noise louder? What if we educated them and actually enabled the longevity of the sport and more money flowing into the ecosystem?”
While some have criticized the situation in Saudi Arabia, Khan is quick to point out the positive side of things.
“More importantly, there’s a fight going on,” Hahn said. “We had Fury vs. Ngannou, which ended up being an interesting match, and we also had an incredible Day of Reckoning card, probably Fury vs. Usyk, AJ vs. Ngannou, Bivol vs. Beterbiev. So, all these undercard cards, at least we’re looking at them.”
Questions and comments can be directed to Anson at: [email protected].
