Francis Ngannou may have suffered the biggest loss professional boxing has ever seen. Now he's got Anthony Joshua.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will face the former unified heavyweight champion in a 10-round bout on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, five months after Ngannou earned the respect of the boxing world with a split decision loss to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Ngannou entered that Fury bout as a heavy underdog to the champion — one promoter called the bout “a disgrace” — but he distinguished himself from many MMA fighters-turned-boxers with a performance that wouldn't have looked out of place from a seasoned heavyweight contender. He managed to drop Fury in the third round and had the crowd chant his name in the final round.
Once again, the Cameroonian is an underdog against Joshua, but much closer to him +230 on BetMGM (It was +800 vs. Fury).
Meanwhile, Joshua comes into this fight at an interesting stage of his career. It's been two and a half years since he lost his titles to Oleksandr Usyk, and 18 months since falling in a rematch. He has since reeled off three straight wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, but will likely have to wait a while if he wants to capture another title shot. For now, he's got boxing's newest rising star in Ngannou and the payday that comes with it.
The co-main event features an interesting bout between interim WBO heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker. WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas faces undefeated prospect Nick Paul on the undercard.
Follow our live blog below as the battle continues in Saudi Arabia:
Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua main card results, odds (start time 1pm ET, DAZN PPV)
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua (-300) vs. Francis Ngannou (+240)
Heavyweight: Chili Zhang (-225) vs. Joseph Parker (+188)
Super Welterweight Championship: Israel Madrimov (-400) vs. Magomed Kurbanov (+300)
Featherweight Championship: Ray Vargas vs. Nick Paul
Lightweight: Gavin Gwynn (-300) vs. Mark Chamberlain (+250)
Heavyweight: Justis Honey (-500) vs. Kevin Lerena (+400)
Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua preliminary card results, odds (start time 11 a.m. ET, DAZN PPV)
Super welterweight: Jack McGann (-275) vs. Lewis Green (+225)
Heavyweight: Andrei Nowitzki (-2500) vs. Juan Torres (+1000)
Super lightweight: Ziad Al-Mayouf vs. Cristian Lopez Flores
Heavyweight: Roman Fury (-1400) vs. Martin Svarc (+1100)
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