LONDON (AP) – Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s next fight will be against MMA star Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, promoters have announced.
Ngannou has only boxed once professionally, when he knocked down Tyson Fury before losing in a split-decision to the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion in late October.
A date for the Riyadh fight wasn’t announced but it looks likely to take place in March.
Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are scheduled to fight in Riyadh on February 17 to unify all of the major heavyweight boxing titles. Usyk holds the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) belts.
The 34-year-old Joshua looked sharp before Christmas when he stopped Otto Wallin with a fifth-round technical knockout. On the same card, Deontay Wilder lost to Joseph Parker, which scuppered talk of a March bout between Wilder and Joshua.
Eddie Hearn, who is Joshua’s promoter, announced Friday night that the Ngannou fight is a “done deal” and that a press conference will be held in London on January 15.
The 37-year-old Ngannou of Cameroon is a former UFC champion.
