- Ngannou will enter the fight after a points defeat to Tyson Fury on his debut
- Joshua defeated Otto Wallin in his last fight as he rebuilt his career
- The heavyweight duo will face each other in Saudi Arabia later this year
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou is a foregone conclusion, with the 10-round fight set to take place in Saudi Arabia later this year.
The exact date for the mega money fight between AJ and Ngannou will be announced at a press conference in London later this month.
However, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that the pair will compete against each other as part of the Riyadh season.
Joshua was tentatively scheduled to face Deontay Wilder following his victory over Otto Wallin on December 23.
However, that deal fell apart after Wilder lost to Joseph Parker, with the judges scoring the fight 118-111, 120-108, 120-108 in the Kiwi's favour.
Anthony Joshua (pictured)'s fight against Francis Ngannou has been confirmed as a 10-round fight
Ngannou (right) will fight after a points defeat to Tyson Fury in 2023
The proposed date for Joshua and Wilder's fight was March 9, with both sides signing on the dotted line ahead of their respective fights in December.
Therefore, many believe that the AJ vs. Ngannou fight will replace the proposed fight between the British heavyweight and Wilder.
AJ expressed his interest in fighting Ngannou after the former UFC star broke into the WBC's top 10 heavyweight rankings following his first professional boxing match.
No one gave Ngannou anything other than a puncher's chance in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury last October.
However, Ngannou proved his worth against the Gypsy King, knocking the WBC champion to the canvas in the third round before ultimately losing on a split decision.
Many punters believed Ngannou did enough during the 10-round contest to win the fight and said the Cameroonian was 'robbed' to protect Fury's fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
However, the majority of boxing experts agreed that Fury was the deserved winner of the night – narrowly edging out the Cameroonian after a disappointing performance.
Nevertheless, Ngannou left the fight with a tremendous amount of credit and established himself as a valuable contender in the heavyweight division.
Meanwhile, Joshua continued his quest to return to the top of the heavyweight division by defeating Otto Wallin at Judgment Day.
Joshua put on a boxing masterclass, forcing Wallin's corner to intervene and abandon the fight after five rounds.