Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou Prediction, Preview & Odds

Check out our Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou prediction, preview and all the betting odds for the Boxing action on Friday Night.

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are set to meet in Riyadh this coming Friday, as we're set for another huge crossover Boxing bout. Joshua is coming into this fight looking back to his best having won his last three bouts, the most recent success coming last December when he won via TKO in the Fifth Round against Otto Wallin last December.

Francis Ngannou on the other hand might be a boxing "novice" in name but he shocked the world with his performance against Tyson Fury last October only losing by Split Decision. Could he go one better this time?

How To Watch Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou

Start Time

The fight is on March 8. The early stages of the undercard can be watched from about 4.30 pm on Sky Sports Action, the Main Card is set to get underway around 6.00 pm on Sky Sports Box Office or DAZN with the Main Event set to take place around 11 p.m., depending on how long the undercard fights last.

What TV Channel?

Sky Sports Action (Preliminary Undercard), Sky Sports Box Office + DAZN from 6 pm

Location

Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia

Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou Odds

Tyson Fury is the heavy favourite to win this fight at odds of 1/16 in the betting.

MMA superstar Francis Ngannou is the 15/2 underdog to claim what would be a famous victory on Saturday night.

The draw can be backed at 28/1 odds.

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Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou Fight Card

Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou; Heavyweight

Zhilei Zhang (ic) vs. Joseph Parker for the interim WBO heavyweight title

Rey Vargas (c) vs. Nick Ball for the WBC super featherweight title

Mark Chamberlain vs. Gavin Gwynne; Lightweights

Justis Huni va. Kevin Lerena; Heavyweights

Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Christian Lopez Flores; Super Lightweights

Roman Fury vs. Martin Svarc; Cruiserweights

Jack McGann vs. Louis Greene; Super Welterweights

Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou Tale of the Tape

Boxer: Anthony Joshua

Nickname: AJ

Hometown: Watford, England

Pre-fight record: 27-0-3 (24 KO)

Age: 34

Height: 6ft 6 in (198 cm)

Reach: 82 inches

Weight 244 (111kg)

Style: Orthodox

Recognition: Anthony Joshua is one of the finest Heavyweight Boxer of the modern era and a former two-time unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles twice between 2016 and 2021.

Boxer: Francis Ngannou

Nickname: The Predator

Hometown: Batié, Cameroon

Pre-fight record: 0-0-1 (Boxing)

Age: 37

Height: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)

Reach: 83 inches

Weight 257lb (117kg)

Style: Orthodox

Record (MMA): 17-3 with 12 wins via knockout

Recognition: Francis Ngannou is a fighter who has made his name as an MMA Fighter and is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is a former member of the UFC where he was the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion when he departed.

His MMA record is 17 wins (12 Kos) from 20 fights. Francis lost his first boxing bout to Tyson Fury by Split Decision last October, shocking people for his performance.

Joshua v Ngannou Fight Preview

Joshua's Boxing Stock

The big fight is set for Friday with Francis Ngannou set to have another collision course with the boxing world after nearly shocking Fury in Saudi last October taking him to 10 Rounds and only losing by a Split Decision.

Joshua is from boxing stock, a two-time unified Heavyweight Champion, but hasn’t held a belt since he lost it to Oleksander Usyk via Unanimous Decision in September 2021, he would subsequently lose the rematch by Split Decision in August 2022. However, since those defeats he is now on a three-fight winning streak beating Franklin, Helenius and Wallin all in 2023 the latter of whom he beat comprehensively, forcing a corner stoppage after five rounds.

Ngannou’s Crossover From MMA

Francis Nagannou on the other hand has made his name as an MMA Star and has garnered a reputation in the Mixed Martial Arts world for his striking style and knockout power winning 17/20 fights 12 coming by knockout and 1 by decision.

Plenty predicted in advance of his Boxing Debut against Tyson Fury that the change in glove game could prove too difficult a hill to pass especially against one of the modern-day greats Tyson Fury. However, Francis to his credit showed he was not a one-trick pony taking Fury to a Split Decision last October.

What They’ve Said

In the build-up to this fight, Joshua has cut a focused figure “Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything; my soul, my spirit, my mind, my body. We’ll see where it leads me, right now, I’m not thinking about any championship belts or anything. My main focus is Francis, realistically, it’s getting through an intense, focused training camp, because how I train is how I fight," Joshua said. "If I get victory in my training camp I am sure I get victory on the night. We’ll put the belts on hold because my focus is on getting through training camp and getting to the fight successfully.

Joshua is the far more experienced boxer and comes into this bout showing new life with his performances following three victories in a row, exactly what he needed to catapult himself back into the conversation again.

Interestingly, ahead of the fight the often more softly spoken Ngannou, still found time to take a jab at previous opponent Tyson Fury saying "you are nothing in front of me"

Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou Prediction

Prediction: Anthony Joshua To Be Knocked Down And Win 5/1

Ngannou in his debut fight against Fury showed surprising boxing craft and his power punching translated to boxing too with him scoring a knockdown earlier in the fight. However, it could be argued that he may have benefited from complacency from the Fury camp but his performance certainly did turn heads in Saudi.

Ngannou will be no easy fight for Joshua and I think he will score a knockdown again before ultimately losing out narrowly again.

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