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The much anticipated boxing bout between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua is just hours away, it will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by 11 pm Nigeria time on Friday night.
The 10-round heavyweight fight taking place on Friday is loaded with undercard that includes Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker and Nick Ball’s world title fight against Rey Vargas, at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Friday.
Recall that Ngannou made his debut in October, losing via split decision to WBC world champion Fury in a non-title bout.
The Cameroonian-French fighter almost delivered an upset when he dropped Fury to the canvas with a left hook in that fight.
Speaking ahead of this match, Ngannou said “I feel confident enough, based on my training, the hard work that I put in,” Ngannou said in his pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.
“It [fight against Fury] was a good experience and it definitely guided me better to have proper training.
“Every space I have open, I am going to hit … I am not going to leave any stone unturned and any opportunity unexplored.”
Ngannou is ready to make more headlines in his fast-track bid to become a boxing champion so soon after dominating the UFC scene.
“I’ve exposed myself – the guy who is coming next time [Joshua] knows what to deal with,” Ngannou said after arriving in Riyadh.
“I’ve lost that element of surprise. So how can I surprise him again? What can I pull from my sleeve once again?”
Ngannou, who has a 17-3 mixed martial arts record with 12 victories by knockout, will once again be the underdog when he faces two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua, but the Briton said he would not make the mistake of underestimating his less-experienced opponent.
“I know what I am up against, I look at all of these small details. I spar, I do my film study, all that type of stuff.”