Saudi Arabia will host another fight pitting a boxer against a mixed martial artist when Anthony Joshua faces Francis Ngannou. The fight will be co-promoted by Matchroom Boxing (DAZN) and Queensberry Promotions.
A former two-time unified heavyweight champion, Joshua is on a two-fight win streak after losing twice to Oleksandr Usyk. He knocked out Robert Helenius and dismantled Otto Wallin in his last fight in December. “AJ” was supposed to fight Deontay Wilder following the Day of Reckoning fight card, but the latter lost against Joseph Parker, who is competing on the undercard.
Now, a win will bring Joshua one step closer to the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Usyk.
Ngannou is a former UFC heavyweight champion. The Cameroonian parted ways with the UFC in 2022 following failed contract talks and signed with the Professional Fighters League. Part of his deal with the PFL is to box, and he turned pro in October against Fury. “The Predator” lost his boxing debut, but he did knock down the WBC heavyweight champion.
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, exclusively live on DAZN
Regarding Fury, the past is the past, and this is a fresh start for Ngannou, who is the underdog in this fight as he was against “The Gypsy King.”
“I don’t take my last fight as a reference, I know exactly where I am at, I’m going to get better and better, and that’s how I see things,” Ngannou said. “I’m preparing for a tough fight, the Fury fight was great, but that’s in the past, and I have a new challenge in front of me, and I take it more serious now than before because now I think there’s something more on the line, which is probably the Undisputed fight. So let’s see, I will do something that no one has done before, and I believe I have the tools to do that, starting with having the win over ‘AJ’ on March 8 in a big fight - not an easy fight, but a possible one and I am going to take it.”
The Sporting News provides all you need to know about the fight and event, from time, channel, and card.
What time is Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou today?
- Event start time: 10 a.m. ET | 9 a.m. CT | 7 a.m. PT
- Main event start time: approx. 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT | 3 p.m. PT *
* The main event will now likely start at 7 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. CT | 4 p.m. PT
The card starts at 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).
Here's a breakdown of Joshua vs. Ngannou start times worldwide:
| Region | Date | Start Time | Main Event Ring Walks (approx.) |
| Saudi Arabia (local) | Friday, March 8 | 6 p.m. AST | 2 a.m. AST |
| USA and Canada (ET) | Friday, March 8 | 10 a.m. ET | 6 p.m. ET |
| USA and Canada (CT) | Friday, March 8 | 9 a.m. CT | 5 p.m. CT |
| USA and Canada (PT) | Friday, March 8 | 7 a.m. PT | 3 p.m. PT |
| Puerto Rico | Friday, March 8 | 11 a.m. EDT | 7 p.m. EDT |
| UK and Ireland | Friday, March 8 | 3 p.m. GMT | 11 p.m. GMT |
| South Africa | Friday, March 8 | 5 p.m. SAST | 1 a.m. SAST |
| India | Friday, March 8 | 8:30 p.m. IST | 4:30 a.m. IST |
| Philippines | Friday, March 8 | 11 p.m. PST | 7 a.m. PST |
| Australia | Saturday, March 9 | 2 a.m. AEDT | 10 a.m. AEDT |
| New Zealand | Saturday, March 9 | 3 a.m. NZST | 11 a.m. NZST |
MORE: Are Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou fighting for a title?
How to watch Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou: TV channel, live stream
| Region | TV channel | Live streaming |
| USA | — | DAZN |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK and Ireland | — | DAZN, Sky Sports PPV |
| Australia | — | DAZN |
The heavyweight fight will be on DAZN, with the streaming giant and Sky Sports PPV set to share the broadcast in the U.K.
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou PPV price
- U.S. PPV Price: $69.99
- U.K. PPV Price: £19.99
- For existing DAZN subscribers, the U.K. PPV price will be £18.99.
- DAZN monthly subscription: $19.99 on a 12-month contract or $24.99 month-to-month in U.S. / $24.99 per month in Canada / £9.99 in the U.K. on a 12-month contract or £19.99 month-to-month / 13.99 AUD
- DAZN annual subscription: $224.99 in U.S., $199.99 in Canada, £99.99 in the UK.
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, exclusively live on DAZN
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou fight card
- Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou; Heavyweights
- Zhilei Zhang (ic) vs. Joseph Parker for the interim WBO heavyweight title
- Rey Vargas (c) vs. Nick Ball for the WBC featherweight title
- Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov for the WBA super welterweight title
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Gavin Gwynne; Lightweights
- Justis Huni va. Kevin Lerena; Heavyweights
- Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Christian Lopez Flores; Super Lightweights
- Roman Fury vs. Martin Svarc; Cruiserweights
- Jack McGann vs. Louis Greene; Super Welterweights
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