Mike Coppinger, ESPN January 5, 2024, 6:19 p.m. ET
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou have inked a deal for a heavyweight boxing match in Riyadh, Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, announced on social media on Friday.
The fight will take place on March 8, sources told ESPN.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) was scheduled to face Deontay Wilder in a long-awaited clash in Riyadh on March 9 before Wilder was upset by Joseph Parker last month. Later that evening, Joshua scored a fifth-round TKO against Otto Wallin after breaking Wallin's nose.
The December 23 card in Riyadh was supposed to set up the Joshua-Wilder duel, but now Alalshikh has opted for perhaps an even more exciting duel for Joshua.
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Joshua's victory over Wallin capped the revival of the 2023 season for the former heavyweight champion. He fought three times and, most importantly, showed the killer instinct against Wallin that has been generally missing since his surprise TKO loss to Andy Ruiz in June 2019.
“I’m on a journey and I’m going to stay focused,” Joshua, 34, said after the win. The fight was his first with trainer Ben Davison. “I don’t celebrate when we win these fights. I celebrate when I win the titles.”
A win over Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, would bring him one step closer to that goal.
Ngannou, 36, made his professional boxing debut in shocking fashion when he defeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Riyadh in October, suffering a split decision defeat.
Now Ngannou (0-1) will prepare to prove the performance against another British boxing star was no fluke.
Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion, regained his titles from Ruiz in Riyadh in December 2019 but then lost two fights to Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk will face Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on February 17 in Riyadh, a fight that includes a two-way rematch clause.
The winner of Joshua-Ngannou should be well placed for a future clash against whoever emerges from Fury-Usyk with the title.
Joshua, ESPN's No. 3 ranked heavyweight, also has wins over Parker and Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said a press conference would be held in London on January 15.