Anthony Joshua will be almost two stones lighter than Francis Ngannou for their massive heavyweight boxing superfight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday night (live on DAZN PPV and Sky Sports).
Joshua (27-3) tipped the scales at 252.4lbs (18 stones) on Thursday afternoon, just a pound heavier than he had been for that super impressive beatdown of Otto Wallin last December.
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Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou meanwhile came in at 272.6lbs – just a couple of pounds heavier than he had been for his professional boxing debut vs Tyson Fury last October.
Ngannou (0-1) earned his dance with Joshua of course by performing with astonishing aplomb in that ‘Battle of the Baddest’ – decking Fury early in the bout and acquitting himself fantastically well. He would eventually lose by the most disputed of split decisions.
What’s at stake in Joshua vs Ngannou?
Friday night might be the acid test for the narrative that Joshua is truly back to the knockout artist who twice became a unified world heavyweight champion.
He regrouped superbly after those back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk by winning all three of his fights in 2023. The last one against Wallin was his first under the tutelage of new trainer Ben Davison.
Both men know that they are one win away from fighting for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. The winner should face the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for all of the marbles in boxing’s marquee weight class.
When is Joshua vs Ngannou?
Ring walks for this blockbuster are expected to be around 2300 UK time on Friday night. That is around 1800 Eastern Standard Time in the United States, or around 1500 PST on the West Coast.
