Boxing’s heavyweight scene just gets more fascinating by the day with an enormous showdown potentially set to spice up that Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard on Friday March 8.
It was confirmed last Friday that former two-time heavyweight king Joshua will make his first appearance of 2024 as ‘Riyadh Season’ draws to a close, against former UFC superstar Ngannou. Francis remember took a certain Tyson Fury right to the wire in his first bout as a pro boxer last October.
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But apparently that is not all – the Saudis love to put on a big show and there is now talk of a tantalising Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang blockbuster on the SAME CARD.
Last month of course we had AJ and Wilder both topping that immense ‘Day of Reckoning’ bill in Riyadh. That was supposed to set up a March 9 meeting between the British and American superstars. But while Joshua blasted out Otto Wallin in five rounds, Wilder fluffed his lines in a huge way by dropping a one-sided decision to former WBO king Joseph Parker.
Any talk of Wilder retiring at the age of 38 after that miserable showing appears to be wide of the market, with speculation that he could make a swift return against the huge challenge that is Zhang. The Chinese star has really cemented his reputation as a top heavy in the last 18 months by dropping a contested decision to Filip Hrgovic and then posting terrific back-to-back wins over Joe Joyce.
Wilder vs Zhang up next on March 8?
According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, there is the possibility that the two men will meet on that Joshua vs Ngannou bill, in what would be a fascinating clash.
For former WBC king Wilder (43-3-1), it would provide an immediate chance to reaffirm his right to being in the heavyweight title picture. For Zhang (26-1-1) it would prove without doubt that he is a top-five man in boxing’s marquee weight class.
It would be easy to see an impressive Wilder victory and a Joshua win on the same card rekindling that Joshua vs Wilder dream. Remember both men had signed a two-fight deal before everything went wrong last month.
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Meanwhile a Joshua vs Zhang showdown has long been mooted – you have to imagine that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn would love to tap into that enormous Chinese media market with a top fight involving a home fighter.
Either way, by March 9 the heavyweight scene will have undergone another big shakeup. Remember before that March 8 show we have Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 for all of the titles. That unification match should crown the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis all the way back in 1999.
