It’s back to Saudi Arabia for heavyweight ace Anthony Joshua, who will face off with MMAer-turned-pugilist Francis Ngannou.
AJ (age 34; 26-3) is back, looking like the “old” AJ, many are saying, after the Brit handled Otto Wallin with efficiency in their Dec 23 clash.
Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing.
Ngannou (age 37; 0-1 in boxibg) is a newcomer to this sphere, he’d built his resume in the Octagon, then parted ways with UFC.
They chuckled when the Cameroon man signed on the battle Tyson Fury.
But Ngannou’s skill set had WBC champ Fury on the floor and then worried about the judges’ rendering, when they faced off on Oct 23 in Saudi.
Fury emerged with a decision win and a damaged rep: how’d a 0-0 guy almost dethrone the top man in the division?
That “top man” Fury has the opportunity on Feb 17 to regain some shine when he fights titlist Oleksandr Usyk . That’ll be a big shoe to drop, who has their hand raised.
Folks were thinking we’d see, finally, AJ vs Deontay Wilder this year, but this plan went awry when Wilder dropped a decision to Joseph Parker two weeks ago.
Wilders’ status is up in the air, and his luster is lost—so Hearn went to Plan B.
So, when do we circle the date for the Joshua Vs Ngannou matchup?
A Jan 15 presser will tell us more specifics.
