Anthony Joshua remains massive betting favorite to beat Francis Ngannou in March boxing match
Putting his three-fight winning run – and likely any further chances at undisputed heavyweight champion status on the line in March, former two-time gold holder, Anthony Joshua still remains a strong betting favorite to land a victory over incoming foe, former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou in the pair’s March professional boxing match.
Joshua, a former two-time world champion, makes his return to the squared circle as part of a period of extra activity in the last 18 months, drawing Cameroonian knockout threat, Ngannou in March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – in a massively high-profile pairing.
In the midst of a three-fight winning run, Watford native, Joshua turned in a dominant, eventual corner stoppage TKO win over Otto Wallin back in December in the Middle East in a ‘Day of Reckoning’ billed card.
As for Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight kingpin made his professional boxing debut back in August in Riyadh to boot, turning in a spectacular performance in a controversial split decision loss to the unbeaten, current WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury – dropping the Morecambe native early in the bout to boot.
And preparing for his own showdown with Ngannou, British heavyweight star, Joshua is still riding an impressive -500 betting favorite line to beat Ngannou – with the ex-UFC gold holder still closing as a betting favorite, with odds as high as +350 still widely available.
Anthony Joshua favorite to beat Francis Ngannou
If fans are interesting on betting on Anthony Joshua’s incoming fight with Francis Ngannou, a list of boxing sportsbooks are still taking action on the Watford native’s return – with many even offering punters and bettors the chance to utilize prop bets, including round wins, and even predictions on method of victory.
Riding a three-fight winning run into his return against Ngannou, Joshua had turned in a devastating knockout win over Robert Helenius last year, which came off the back of a decision win over Jermaine Franklin in his return to the winner’s enclosure, and UK homecoming.
Prior to his three-fight winning run, Joshua had suffered two consecutive title fight defeats to Ukraine favorite, Oleksandr Usyk – failing to defend his titles in the pair’s first bout, before suffering a decision loss in the pair’s re-run for world gold once more.
A devastating knockout artist, Ngannou, also a former gold holder under the banner of the Dana White-led UFC, has yet to make his return to mixed martial arts competition since he departed the organization back in January of last year, in less than ceremonious circumstances.
Departing in the midst of a winning run, albeit, Ngannou landed a unanimous decision triumph over then-interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane – handing the Frenchman his first professional loss in the process.
Singing a multi-fight deal with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) in the time since, the Cameroonian fan-favorite has yet to book his return to mixed martial arts – in the form of a promotional debut with the Peter Murray-led promotion, amid speculation linking him with a landing later this year following his returns against Joshua.
Remaining supremely confident of his chances of similarly dropping Joshua as he did to Fury in their August clash, Ngannou questioned the apparent suspect nature of the Watford puncher’s ability to sustain damage, claiming if he dropped him, he would likely leave him on the canvas for good.
“The day is set,” Francis Ngannou said. “It’s two months from now, and if any of them think they are going to have easy money, too bad for them. If AJ (Anthony Joshua) takes the punch that (Tyson) Fury took, I don’t guarantee that he’s [getting back] up. I have heard that he doesn’t have a chin. I’m going to find out.”
“I think he’s still the same fighter,” Francis Ngannou explained. “Being the same fighter doesn’t mean you can’t lose. He lost to Andy Ruiz. He lost to Oleksandr Usyk and he can still lose. By the way, I’m really intending to hand him a loss on March 8. You can still be who you are, but still lose. Nobody is undefeated.”
Suffering just a single knockout loss during his illustrious boxing career, Joshua marked his US debut back in 2019 with a shocking defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in the pair’s initial pairing, dropping a one-sided knockout loss in a short-notice pairing at Madison Square Garden.
Avening that defeat with a decision rematch success immediately, a victory for Joshua against Ngannou would go a long way in securing the British heavyweight a title fight with either long-time rival, Fury, or a trilogy bout with Usyk – in an attempt to avenge his sole other professional boxing loss.
While the stakes remain high for Joshua, a stunning, upset victory for Batié storyman, Ngannou would rock the boxing world to it’s often-shaky core – and completely turn the tide on the former’s career in the sport.
