Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has said that he is ready to fight Francis Ngannou stating that the former UFC champion had a good outing against current WBC champion Tyson Fury.
The clash between Joshua and Ngannou is billed to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 8, 2024.
Ngannou shocked the world when he dropped undefeated boxer Fury in the third round of their bout last October but he eventually lost the bout in a split decision.
“I just feel to myself I will always be here and ready to fight any time,” the 34-year-old told Sky Sports ahead of his bout against Ngannou.
“He (Ngannou) had a good outing as well against Tyson Fury who is the current WBC champion. So I think it will be good for me to see where I’m at.”
Throughout his career, Joshua has taken on a sequence of elite opponents, from Wladimir Klitschko to Oleksandr Usyk, with Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and many more in between.
However, obvious omissions from Joshua’s CV are American knockout specialist Deontay Wilder and rival Fury.
Joshua however points out that even though bouts with those opponents never came to fruition, he has previously agreed to fight both men to highlight that he does not avoid big fights.
“You now what it proved to me, I’ve signed to fight Fury, I’ve signed to fight Wilder, I’ve signed to fight a lot of people,” he told Sky Sports.
“I just do good business. I’m a good prizefighter, I don’t duck a challenge. I’m always up for it. I just feel to myself I’ll always be here and ready to fight any time.”
Joshua and Fury looked to have struck a deal to fight in 2021 in Saudi Arabia before the Gypsy King was ordered to face Wilder himself for a third time following an arbitration.
Then the following year, Fury made an offer to Joshua to fight for his WBC title after his second loss to Usyk, before setting him a string of deadlines to agree the fight, and eventually calling it off after the Watford-born star failed to return his contract in time.
Speaking of talks with Wilder, Joshua added that the fight was not dead in the water saying, “We met up, we spoke to lawyers, we signed contracts, all that good stuff.
“It’s a fight that fans want to see. I’m not saying it’s completely written off. It’s a fight where everything was signed and sealed. It just needed both of us to deliver. And he didn’t meet his end of the bargain.”
For now, Joshua will have to get the job done against Ngannou next week and hope an opportunity to fight for a world title presents itself after Fury faces Usyk on May 18 for the chance to be named undisputed heavyweight world champion.
