By Junaid Abdullahi
Joshua has been booked in 12 round fights for the past eight years but he will fight for two less round against former UFC champion Ngannou in their crossover fight
Anthony Joshua had to ask for clarification to see how many rounds his crossover fight with Francis Ngannou is scheduled for.
Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua is hoping to secure himself an undisputed world title shot by getting past Ngannou when they fight in Saudi Arabia on March 8. Joshua was expected to fight Deontay Wilder on the same date but Ngannou replaced the American when he ruined his two-fight deal with Joshua by shockingly losing to Joseph Parker.
Joshua hasn’t been booked in a professional fight since beating Kevin Johnson almost nine years ago. Ngannou’s professional debut against Tyson Fury last October was only booked for 10 rounds as the former UFC champion dropped Fury but lost a controversial split decision.
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‘AJ’ said during his face-to-face interview with Ngannou: “I’m ready for 10 rounds or 12 rounds, 10 rounds yeah? I’m ready for 10 rounds,” Interviewer Ade Oladipo then asked Joshua: “Why is it 10 and not 12?” Ngannou replied by saying: “They told me 12 and I said ‘No, cut it out.’ I’m not taking a Mike Tyson fight as a reference like ‘Oh I’m a pro boxer now’. No, I’m building it up. I just came into it, they asked for 10 rounds or 12 rounds and I said 10.”
Ngannou’s fight against Fury was the longest contest of his combat sports career as his UFC world title fights unfolded over 25-minutes at most. The Cameroonian isn’t focused on world titles like Joshua as he is hoping a win over the Brit can guarantee him a rematch against Fury, regardless of whether his old rival still has a belt or not.
Joshua admitted that a “gimmick” fight with Ngannou wasn’t on his radar until the former UFC champion put the boxing world on notice with his performance against Fury.
“They spoke about this fight before and I said ‘Nah, it’s a gimmick fight.’ It’s not something that I think is right,” Joshua said.
“That was my route, to stick in boxing. Crossing over when I am still chasing heavyweight glory. When they saw what happened with his last fight and the situation with Deontay Wilder, this opportunity presented itself. I have never turned down a challenge and I’m looking forward to it. It’s the biggest challenge of my life.”
