There are already two huge cards on the horizon in Saudi Arabia, but there is a third already being mentioned by Riyadh Season organisers. With Francis Ngannou set to fight Anthony Joshua on March 8, and February 17 set for Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk, the two winners could meet later in 2024 to contest the undisputed heavyweight championship once more.
Anthony Joshua could have a shot at becoming undisputed heavyweight champion this year after it was heavily suggested the winner of his fight with Francis Ngannou would get a title match against the winner of Tyson Fury’s historic clash with Oleksandr Usyk.Usyk and Fury fight to decide who will be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, when they meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 17. That fight has been two years in the making but the two champions have finally agreed a deal to put all their belts on the line.Three weeks later, also in Saudi Arabia, Joshua will come up against former MMA star Ngannou, who pushed Fury all the way in their own match-up last year.
Joshua, Ngannou and their respective promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren all attended a press conference on Monday evening in London to discuss the upcoming fight, and in the build-up it was revealed that Turki Alalshikh – a Saudi adviser heavily involved in Riyadh Season – was hoping to set up a second undisputed fight, this time between the winners of the two upcoming bouts.
Speaking at the press conference, Ngannou said he would be looking to land on Joshua’s chin to test his durability.He said: “I’m going to fight him, I’m going to look for his chin, that’s what you do in the fight. I heard that he does not have a chin, I don’t know if that’s true or not, but we’re going to find out.”Joshua, who rarely spoke at length in his fight week against Otto Wallin, which he won with a brutal stoppage, was similarly curt when asked what he thought about the challenge posed by Ngannou.“No problem,” he said at first.He added: “Every fight leads to somewhere, this fight is my everything, my soul, my spirit, my mind, my body. Right now I’m not thinking about any championship belts. My main focus is Francis and getting through an intensive, focused training camp, because how I train is how I fight.”
ZHANG V PARKER SET AS KNOCKOUT CHAOS CO-MAIN EVENT
Earlier on Monday it was confirmed that Joseph Parker will face Zhilei Zhang as the co-main event to Joshua v Ngannou, in an evening dubbed ‘Knockout Chaos’Zhang is the current WBO interim champion after defeating Joe Joyce last year, while Parker soundly beat Dontay Wilder at Day of Reckoning in December.- – -TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
