Francis Ngannou vs Anthony Joshua reportedly a ‘done deal’ for early 2024
Following his impressive performance against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou appears to have his next fight lined up, remaining in the boxing ring to face former WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the first or second quarter of 2024.
This bout is to go down on March 9, 2024, live from Saudi Arabia, confirmed earlier this afternoon by Ariel Helwani.
Many of us were left believing Ngannou would face former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder next. However, Wilder having lost his tune up fight to Joseph Parker last month, the Ngannou team decided to go with Joshua, who rebounded from back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk with three-straight wins in 2023.
Francis Ngannou saddened the hearts of many MMA fans when he departed from the UFC as the heavyweight champion of the world, especially considering the leaps and bounds he’d grown over the last couple years he fought there.
On the contrary, we were happy to see Ngannou get the Fury fight, given the purse he was guaranteed to make.
After winning and defending the heavyweight title, Ngannou left the UFC for boxing (and the PFL) as a way to make more money, leaving a three-fight, eight-million-dollar deal on the table upon his departure. The most he’d ever made prior was his lone title defense in the promotion, securing $600,000 for his fight with Ciryl Gane, and $580,000 for his rematch with Stipe Miocic when he won the title.
Ngannou was guaranteed $10 million for his bout with Fury, not including sponsorships, but no one really expected much from him in this fight considering who he was facing. However, he went the full 10 rounds, dropped Fury, outboxed him throughout, and according to most, defeated the best heavyweight boxer on the planet, losing on the cards via split decision.
This performance turned the boxing world on its head, as Ngannou proved not only is he the best heavyweight MMA fighter on the planet, but also one of the best heavyweight boxers on the planet, even with an 0-1 professional record.
The Nigerian star currently sits at no. 10 in the WBC heavyweight rankings ahead of his 10-round clash with Joshua this spring.
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