The much-anticipated fight comes up today in Riyadh as Anthony Joshua, a former two-time unified heavyweight champion, will go head to head with Francis Ngannou, ex-UFC champion in a money-spinning £55 million bout.
The two heavyweights could launch themselves into an opportunity to challenge for the undisputed title later this year.
Joshua is looking to make it four wins in a row, while Ngannou is aiming for his first win in the ring.
Ngannou, a 37-year-old power puncher, almost took the boxing world by storm in October 2023 when took Tyson Fury to the canvas before losing a controversial decision in his boxing debut.
As both fighters take to the ring in Saudi Arabia, Joshua is looking to continue re-climbing the division rankings and secure his fourth win in a row following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, while Ngannou is again looking to get his first win in boxing.
Ahead of the bout, Ngannou’s coach Dewey Cooper is confident that the Cameroonian can create an upset by knocking out Joshua.
Ngannou knocked Fury down to the canvas during the bout, which he lost via a controversial split decision outcome.
Cooper is predicting a knockout win for Ngannou and questioned whether Joshua can get back to his feet like Fury did.
“Tyson Fury may go down, but he gets up. He has been dropped in numerous fights, even multiple times, but he gets up and he still fights. We cannot say the same for Joshua,” Cooper said during the MMA Hour podcast.
“I don’t think Joshua is necessarily chinny and does not have the strength to get up. He did it against Wladimir Klitschko, but that’s 40-year-old Klitschko.
“Can he do it against one of these tigers that is hungry, that’s coming to hit you hard and do some damage? We will see.
‘But I can tell you one thing: Francis is ready to go. He’s ready to shock the world again. Lightning will strike twice.’
Cooper was also asked to compare how much of a different challenge it has been to prepare Ngannou for Joshua compared to Fury.
Cooper believes Joshua is a more dangerous opponent than Fury, but says Nga is prepared for the bout
“Tyson Fury is way more dynamic. He is multidimensional. He has many styles he fights. But do not confuse being tricky with being effective and being dangerous.
“Anthony Joshua, for sure, is the more dangerous opponent, Tyson Fury is trickier.
“So we understand the danger of this fight and Francis is ready for it.
‘Anthony Joshua has one-punch knockout power as well, so the danger element is more intensified against Joshua, and we understand that.
“Francis will be sharp, smart, and most importantly dominant.”
Joshua’s coach Ben Davison highlighted the Briton’s strength ahead of the bout.
“We’ve pulled up clips of his defence, and his instinctual defence is good,” Davison told The Telegraph on Tuesday (March 5).
“Look, Anthony Joshua is an Olympic gold medalist, two-time heavyweight champion of the world, a phenomenal fighter with phenomenal attributes,” Davison told The Telegraph.
“He has gone into two rematches straight off the bat [against Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk after losing to each], and I think that says a lot about someone’s character and mental state. “
