Joshua clashes with former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, this Friday
Francis Ngannou will be the heavy hitting Anthony Joshua’s next opponent this Friday when the pair meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Both boxers will approach the fight with different expectations, as the former mixed martial artist will be boxing for only his second professional bout, and Joshua, a seasoned boxer, will be hoping to avoid an upset on his return to world title contention.
‘AJ’ suffered a slight wobble in his boxing career when he was defeated twice by Alexandr Usyk in September 2021, which saw him lose his WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles and fail to regain them in the rematch.
However, he has since bounced back with three convincing wins against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, and Otto Walin.
The Briton will be trying to continue his comeback this Friday in order to open the door to a prospective battle with the winner of the Fury versus Usyk fight, which would give him the opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
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Anthony Joshua Fight Record
| 30 Fights | 27 Wins | 3 Losses |
|---|---|---|
| By Knockout | 24 | 1 |
| By Decision | 3 | 2 |
Joshua is no stranger to an upset; he was subject to one of the biggest shocks in the history of heavyweight boxing when the 1/25 favourite with bookmakers was beaten by Andy Ruiz in 2019.
Of the 21 boxers he has faced, only two have triumphed over him; his other losses came against Usyk.
His most recent fight, against Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin, was a dominant performance that forced his corner to take him out after five rounds. This was Wallin's second defeat.
Joshua's victory was his 27th professional win in 30 fights, with 24 coming by knockout, giving him an amazing knockout percentage of 88.89%. He will undoubtedly be looking to demonstrate this great stopping power against Ngannou.
Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou Betting
Francis Ngannou is an outsider with the bookmakers at a best price of 3/1 available at Paddy Power or Betfair. This gives him an implied chance of 25% to win the fight.
However, perhaps the Cameroonian did enough to convince boxing enthusiasts that he is the real deal when he knocked down Tyson Fury in his only professional boxing fight to date.
79% of bets made through oddschecker in the last 30 days have been on Francis Ngannou to win.
Joshua is a strong favourite at a best price of 3/10 (an implied chance of 77%) to beat Ngannou.
