Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou

The US Sun

01 March 2024

FORMER UFC Star Francis Ngannou has burst onto the boxing scene and seems set to continue his rise to stardom.

This will be just his second official boxing match with his debut coming in a loss to WBC Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Despite the loss, Ngannou outperformed expectations as he was able to knock Ngannou to the canvas in the third round and the fight officially went in the books as a split decision.

The 37-year-old will now look to produce his first official win against another man who also was once crowned the heavyweight champion of the world- Anthony Joshua.

The 34-year-old holds a career boxing record of 27-3-0 and most recently beat Otto Wallin by Technical Decision in December.

These two fighters are set to square off on Friday, March 8, at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.

This is set to be a standard professional boxing match in which there will be 10 rounds each lasting three minutes.

The fight card is set to begin at 11 AM EST with the Joshua vs Ngannou fight expected to go off around 5:50 PM EST.

Get ready for the fight with the promos. The bonuses and promos are provided by the best legal sportsbooks for US players.

Find the latest odds for the Joshua vs. Ngannou fight provided by DraftKings. Odds are subject to change.

Moneyline betting

Anthony Joshua: -340
Francis Ngannou: +260

Total rounds

Over 7.5rounds: +100
Under 7.5 rounds: -135

While Anthony Joshua enters as a -340 favorite, these are fairly short odds for this type of boxing match, especially considering this is only Ngannou’s second official boxing match.

Even still, the former UFC star carries his 17-3 UFC record and his impressive knockout power into the boxing ring.

Ngannou is also two inches shorter at 6-foot-4 compared to Joshua measuring in at 6-foot-6. However, Ngannou has a one-inch advantage in his reach and also traditionally weighs more than Joshua.

During his fight against Tyson Fury, Ngannnou weighed in at 271 pounds while Joshua weighed 251 in his most recent fight.

Both fighters typically fight out of a traditional stance although Ngannou switched to a southpaw stance several times during the fight against Fury.

Even with the martial arts background for Ngannou, there is no doubt that Anthony Joshua enters as the better boxer. After back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, who is set to take on Tyson Fury in his next fight,

Joshua has ripped off three consecutive victories in which he has looked more like himself. His lone other loss in his career came at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr, although Joshua got his revenge in a rematch.

Ngannou will need to continue sharpening his boxing skills, but he was known for his strong fists and knockout ability during his UFC career.

The Cameroon Native secured a knockout in 12 of his 17 victories with four others coming by submission in the UFC.

He also always aspired to be a boxer growing up and is now achieving this goal even if it may not be the most traditional path.

The Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight is available on all legal sportsbooks. While the process to place a wager may be slightly different depending on the sportsbook, here are the general steps to take to place a wager.

Find the the sportsbooks with the best promos for the fight in our overview. Remember to use the provided links to get the best promo available. When registrereing, you will need to provide some personal details including verifying your identity.

Be sure to take all necessary steps to maximize any bonus or promo opportunities. In most cases, this means to make a deposit. Remember to check the condititions for minimum deposit amount, to make sure you get the most out of the bonus.

Find the “Boxing” option on the sportsbook and select the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight.

Do your research and scroll through available betting options.

Once you find your desired bet, risk the amount you are willing and confirm this.

It is somewhat surprising to see the line set at just -340 in favor of Anthony Joshua.

This is a fairly short line for a guy who is the far superior boxer and looks to be in form. During Ngannou’s first fight, Fury looked out of shape and as if he underestimated his opponent.

Ngannou has gotten plenty of credit for the performance, but perhaps more than he fully deserves. With Joshua seemingly eyeing another chance at the heavyweight title, he cannot afford to have the same mindset. However, Joshua could also get himself in trouble by hunting the big knockout.

While he holds the athletic advantage and has plenty of knockout experience, ending his fight this way in 23 of his 27 wins, Ngannou also has never been knocked out in his UFC career.

Looking deeper into the odds, Anthony Joshua holds -155 odds to get the victory via KO/TKO/DQ and +380 for the victory to be via decision.

In addition to his +260 odds to win outright, Francis Ngannou is +330 to win via KO/TKO/DQ and +1600 to get the victory via decision. The fight is -340 to not go the distance and +240 for it to go all 10 rounds.

There also are -475 odds for either fighter to be knocked down and +300 for both to stay on their feet for the entirety.

Even with -340 being an appealing number, there is still a bit of a mystique surrounding Ngannou’s abilities that makes it difficult to be all-in on Joshua.

He proved himself in the UFC in a way that you can see how it could translate to boxing, but this is much easier said than done. This feels like a fight that is in Joshua’s favor but he must have the right game plan in order for this to be the case.

Ngannou will look to capitalize on the chance to put himself on the map in the boxing world, but this will be a fight that will have an interesting impact on the career trajectory of both parties.

While there is logic behind taking Joshua outright or talking yourself into an Ngannou upset, expect both fighters to be prepared for this matchup.

Expectations are in Joshua’s favor and expect him to be more cautious than what his traditional approach is. Ngannou also has a proven chin and can take a punch.

Look for both fighters to struggle to land the bigger punches and for it to take a few rounds before things open up. This fight has a much higher chance of going the distance than it is being given credit.

The +240 odds for this to occur are worth a chance but the safer bet is for it to go over 7.5 rounds at +100. Both fighters possess massive knockout power but also are well aware that their opponent does as well.

Expect this to be a slower fight than most think and capitalize by wagering on the over 7.5 rounds over/under.

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