Francis Ngannou isn’t done with the boxing world just yet.
Citing Turki AlAlShikh, Ariel Helwani has revealed that former UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou will face Anthony Joshua in a 10-round boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. No date was given for the bout, beyond “later on this year,” but it is reportedly a done deal on both sides.
A press conference is expected to be held later this month in London, England to announce the date of the fight.
For those unaware, AlAlShikh is the Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which played host to Ngannou’s first foray into boxing, against Tyson Fury just months ago.
Ngannou stunned fight fans in both the boxing and mixed martial arts worlds by taking Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, to a split decision in the ex-UFC star’s professional boxing debut this past October. Ngannou acquitted himself so well that he wound up ranked, coming in at #10 in the heavyweight division in the WBC rankings.
Few expected him to survive, let alone thrive, against Fury, considered by many the greatest heavyweight of his era if not all time. Instead, “The Predator” managed to knock down Fury, altering the look of the fight in the ensuing rounds.
While Fury did get the nod on the scorecards, the message was clear: Ngannou had not “fumbled the bag” by leaving the UFC to pursue a dream match-up with Fury, in addition to signing with the PFL on the MMA side. In fact, another big bag of cash now awaits Francis Ngannou for the Joshua fight.
Anthony Joshua (27-3) is coming off his third straight victory following a corner stoppage against Otto Wallin last month. He’s a former WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion, as well as having held the WBC International and Commonwealth heavyweight titles.
One does have to wonder what the timeline for Ngannou’s PFL debut will become as the result of this news, though it’s possible he competes in the back half of 2024 if the boxing match with Joshua arrives earlier. Ngannou has not competed inside the cage since his 2022 victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
