Joshua vs Ngannou: fights, records, KO’s and career stats in boxing and UFC
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will fight on Friday, March 8, (5 p.m. ET, DAZN) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They are former boxing and UFC heavyweight champions, respectively.
Francis Ngannou’s career in boxing isn’t over (0-1, 0 KOs). The Cameroonian, former UFC heavyweight champion -the world’s biggest MMA company-, made his debut against Tyson Fury (34-1-0, 24 KOs), the WBC titleholder.
He lost in a controversial split decision despite sending the Brit to the canvas in the third round after a powerful left hand. The defeat motivated Ngannou to keep boxing, who earned a good purse.
His opponent on Friday will be Anthony Joshua (27-3-0, 24 KOs). The British fighter possessed the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight belts until he faced Oleksandr Usyk (21-0-0, 14 KOs).
After two consecutive losses to the Ukrainian, he got back to winning ways and will now share the ring with Ngannou, who has already proved that he’s a quality fighter inside the ring.
Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua
Anthony Joshua is one of the best boxers in the heavyweight division. He was a unified champion but lost his belts to Usyk. The Cat defeated him twice on points, via unanimous decision in their first fight and a split decision win in the second one.
Those defeats affected Joshua mentally, but he managed to win his last three fights, two of them before the final bell, and is looking for new challenges.
He made his boxing debut in October 2013 and won his first belt (IBF) in less than three years. He has won almost all of his fights by KO, TKO, or stoppage and his only defeat via technical knockout was against Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2-0, 22 KOs) in 2019.
After that, Joshua managed to defeat the American in their rematch. He stands out for his imposing physique, and that’s the reason why many call him The Bodybuilder. One of his boxing references is Mike Tyson.
- Name: Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua.
- Nickname: AJ.
- Date of birth: Watford (UK).
- Age: 34.
- Record: 27-3-0.
- Height: 1,98 m..
- KO percentage: 88,89%.
- Rounds: 160.
- Last fight: December 23, 2023. Defeated Otto Wallin (26-2-0, 14 KO) by TKO in the fifth round.
Francis ‘The Predator’ Ngannou
Francis Ngannou is ‘new’ to boxing, but he got started in the sweet science in grand style. The African was the UFC heavyweight champion, the world’s biggest mixed martial arts company.
After becoming the division king by beating Cyril Gane via unanimous decision he left the UFC because he didn’t get to an agreement for better economic conditions. Now has has been signed by PFL, another MMA company, alongside Amanda Serrano and Jake Paul.
He started his career as a boxer last October and he did it with one of the best in the division and boxing, Tyson Fury. Although he ended up losing, many thought he had won, and the Batie-bred talent gave a good image inside the ring.
He sent Fury to the canvas with a big left in the third round and caused more trouble than expected. Ngannou stated that, if that hand lands against Joshua, the Brit won’t be able to recover.
- Name: Francis Zavier Ngannou.
- Nickname: The Predator.
- Birth: Batié (Cameroon).
- Age: 37.
- Record: 17-3-0.
- Height: 6'3.5.
- KOs: 12.
- Submissions: 4.
- Punch efficiency: 41%.
- Takedown efficiency: 63%.
- Last fight: October 28, 2023. Lost to Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) via split decision. In MMA, on January 23, 2022. Defeated Ciryl Gane (12-2-0) by unanimous decision and became the UFC heavyweight champion.