Out goes Deontay Wilder, in comes Francis Ngannou.
On Friday, well-regarded fight sports activities reporter Ariel Helwani relayed that two-time former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua had signed an settlement to struggle the Cameroonian former UFC heavyweight champion in a 10-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The struggle will happen on March 8.
Ngannou is at present listed as the 10th-ranked heavyweight within the World Boxing Council (WBC) rankings after shedding a detailed choice in his debut boxing match to linear champion Tyson Fury in November. The 36-year-old really scored a knockdown on Fury however was outpointed on the judges’ scorecards, with many followers claiming that he actually gained towards a champion who did not take the struggle severely.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger theorized that Turki Alalshikh, the chair of Saudi Arabia’s leisure authority, believes that Ngannou presents “maybe an much more intriguing matchup for Joshua” in comparison with Wilder.
There may very well be some reality to that idea, particularly after Wilder’s stunning loss to heavyweight contender Joseph Parker in December. {That a} struggle with Ngannou was made so shortly should not be a lot of a shock. Wilder, like Joshua, was an undefeated champion whose unbelievable energy appeared to make up for his extensively criticized fashion of boxing. After ending up on the more severe finish of a trilogy with Fury wherein he misplaced the WBC title, an enormous struggle with Joshua lastly appeared potential after each males had misplaced their luster in recent times.
Joshua’s efficiency towards Otto Wallin in the identical card that Wilder misplaced on again in December was a feather within the cap for the Briton in 2023. After dropping his shares of the heavyweight crown to Oleksander Usyk in 2021 and shedding the rematch, he was extra lively within the final calendar 12 months than he had been in a while, with three straight wins.
There’s loads to be mentioned for this being only a 10-round struggle. If Ngannou – who nonetheless plans to get in an MMA cage quickly – is really a contender as his shocking rating suggests, then why not have him struggle 12 rounds as all different boxers at this stage should do?
Regardless, there isn’t any query that there is a main purse available, particularly contemplating that the Saudis are as soon as once more internet hosting an enormous boxing occasion – and maybe an opportunity to be within the combine after Fury and Usyk do battle for the undisputed title later this 12 months.
