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Boxing News: Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua Boxing Match Announced

"The Predator" isn't quite ready to return to MMA just yet.

Drew Beaupré

Boxing News: Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua Boxing Match Announced
Boxing News: Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua Boxing Match Announced /

Francis Ngannou will return to the boxing ring later this year for a massive fight with former heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua.

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A former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou took a massive amount of criticism in early 2023 when he elected to walk away from the world's leading MMA promotion and eventually sign on with the PFL.

One of the major selling points that encouraged “The Predator” to join the PFL was the opportunity to test himself in the boxing ring, and in his debut against Tyson Fury last October the 37-year-old very nearly pulled off what would have been perhaps the biggest upset in combat sports history.

Tyson Fury Francis Ngannou
Ngannou nearly shocked the world in his boxing debut :: (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The split decision loss to Fury in Saudi Arabia where Ngannou scored the only knockdown of the fight validated the Cameroonian’s boxing aspirations to countless fans, and now Ariel Helwani reports that “The Predator” will return to Riyadh later this year for a ten-round boxing match with Joshua.

While a date for what will almost certainly be one of the biggest combat sports events of the year hasn’t been revealed yet, Helwani did note that there will be press conference in London later this month to formally announce the matchup with further details.

Matchroom Boxing followed up by making the news official and announcing that a fight date will be revealed next week.

One of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing, Joshua has collected three victories this year after he dropped back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk and lost his heavyweight titles in the process.

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“AJ” most recently knocked out Otto Wallin in the main event of the highly-touted “Day of Reckoning” card last month that also saw Deontay Wilder suffer an upset loss to Joseph Parker.

Fight fans will undoubtedly be eager to see how Ngannou fares in his sophomore boxing match after his sensational performance against Fury, although this news does raise questions about when “The Predator” intends to make his debut for the PFL this year.

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