Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) vs. Francis Ngannou (0-1)
When: Friday, March 8, 2024
Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV: PPV
Weight Class: Heavyweight: 10 Rounds
Betting Odds: Anthony Joshua (-485), Francis Ngannou (+320)—Odds by Bovada
Fight Analysis:
Former Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou in an important ten-round bout in Riyadh on March 8. Joshua is looking to get back in position to land a title shot, while Ngannou is looking for his first win in a sport where he is new but has shown enormous potential. For him to drop and so greatly trouble champion Tyson Fury in his first try at this new sport was really something to see. Can Joshua do better, or will we see Ngannou use that terrific punching power to score what would really be a huge win?
While you could say that Joshua is not as good as Tyson Fury, he might actually be a tougher opponent for Ngannou. While more vulnerable in certain areas, Joshua is more of a professional. When he steps into the ring for this fight, Ngannou won’t be able to rely on apathy or a lack of conditioning. He is in a way victimized by performing so well against Fury in October, as subsequent opponents won’t be caught sleeping. And after seeing what he can do, I’d expect Joshua to prepare accordingly.
With Joshua, we now have a fighter who is already 34, and while three years younger than Ngannou, he seems more toward the end-stage of his career. I think people have been too hard on Joshua. He had one loss before meeting Oleksandr Usyk, a loss that he avenged. And as time goes on, maybe losing to Usyk, even twice, won’t be the black eye that it now appears to be on his record. And with the boxing mastery of Usyk, Joshua won’t have to worry about fighting an ultra-educated boxer in this fight.
There are two schools of thought regarding Ngannou’s maiden voyage into the waters of world-class boxing. For a debuting pro boxer to take on the world heavyweight champion, drop him, and lose a controversial decision speaks for itself. And if it weren’t for us trying to handicap a fight, we’d be foolish to try to throw any shade on that feat. But alas, we are breaking down a fight, so we need to entertain the possibility that Ngannou’s success was a bit of a mirage. In other words, we already knew he could fight, as he’s a UFC heavyweight champion, and his calling card was punching power, something that should translate to boxing. But Fury had clearly phoned in his preparation, arriving to the ring overweight and unprepared for the task that lied ahead. I’d anticipate he will not get the same cooperation from Joshua.
