The winner of next month’s undisputed heavyweight championship between Tyson Fury & Oleksandr Usyk on February 17th will defend against the victor of the March 8th fight between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh reportedly wants the Joshua-Ngannou winner to battle for the undisputed against whoever emerges from the Fury-Usyk clash in Saudi Arabia.
If the idea is for Saudi Arabia to attract massive interest, this is the way to go because there will be a lot of fans tuning in if Ngannou is victorious against AJ.
It’s the ideal opponent for Ngannou to fight because Joshua’s mandible is weak, and he’s vulnerable to any hard hitter. AJ’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has kept him out of harm’s way with his match-making, but he can’t do that here.
In a worst-case scenario, we could see Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) meeting up with Usyk in a trilogy fight, and that likely wouldn’t make fans, AJ, or promoter Eddie Hearn happy. Usyk has twice beaten Joshua, and it’s clear that he has his number.
The two fights:
- Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: On February 17th
- Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou: On March 8th
Global Appeal
Casual fans who don’t have a high degree of interest in boxing will be pleased with the possibility of Ngannou fighting for the undisputed championship against the Fury-Ngannou winner, and that could happen.
Joshua’s punch resistance, never good to begin with since turning professional, could fold like a deck of cards under the firepower of Ngannou, which would put him in position to challenge for all four heavyweight titles.
Joshua losing to the novice Ngannou, who has just one pro fight under his belt, would send the former UFC champion up against the Fury vs. Usyk winner for the undisputed, and would make a joke of the sport in the eyes of a lot of people.
Ngannou would be marching into the undisputed championship with a 1-1 record and bypassing all the contenders that have been toiling away for years in boxing, trying to get their title shot.