As fans have no doubt heard by now, it’s official: Anthony Joshua will fight Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March. The fight will be formally announced at a London press conference on January 15th. Details, such as exact date (March 8 and March 9 have been speculated) and the scheduled distance of the fight will be confirmed (a ten rounder is likely, as was the scheduled distance of the fight when Ngannou tangled with Tyson Fury in what was the former UFC heavyweight champion’s pro boxing debut).
“Tonight we confirm it’s a done deal! @anthonyjoshua v. @francis_ngannou collide in a huge night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Eddie Hearn tweeted yesterday evening.
This is of course a big fight, a huge fight. And a quite fascinating fight. Was Ngannou as good as he appeared to be back on October 28 when Ngannou gave Fury hell, knocking him down and landing some punishing shots throughout the surprisingly exciting, closer than close encounter? Or was Fury merely out of shape, having totally underestimated Ngannou?
One thing’s for sure, AJ will not make the mistake of underestimating Ngannou, not after he saw what we all saw in October. For even if Fury was not at his best that night, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that Ngannou showed pretty solid fundamentals, his balance, his jab, his movement a real surprise. And with an additional four-and-a-half months of boxing training, Ngannou can be expected to have better stamina than he showed against Fury.
And of course we all saw how physically strong, how immovable, Ngannou was in the ring with Fury. If Fury couldn’t push and shove Ngannou around the ring, then perhaps Joshua will find the task just as hard. Joshua may be physically stronger than Fury, but is he stronger than Ngannou? How will Ngannou’s chin handle a Joshua bomb should it land? Might AJ go into this fight a little cautious, even gun-shy? How will Joshua’s chin hold up if Ngannou lands a big shot?
Really, there are a ton of questions a fan could ask going into this fight. Above all, will Joshua-Ngannou be a good fight, an exciting and competitive fight? Rest assured, we’ll all be tuning in in March to get our answers! Fury-Ngannou wasn’t a massive hit at the pay-per-view box office. The March fight will be.