Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou winner to challenge Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed heavyweight title
THE WINNER between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will be in line to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Ex-UFC champion Ngannou takes to the ring for the second time on March 8 against AJ in Saudi Arabia.
Just three weeks beforehand, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk contest all four world titles for the first time in heavyweight history.
And His Excellency Turki Alalshikh – Saudi’s boxing boss – wants the winners of both superfights to meet for the undisputed crown.
He said: “You will see the result of this match will connect about the result of the 17 February – this is our idea.”
Promoter Frank Warren added: “For the winner, the big fight’s happening on February 17, with Tyson and Usyk.
“The winner of that – would we like to see them with the winner of this fight? Everybody in boxing would love to see that.
“So everybody has got something to aim for. It’s huge a moment of excitement for boxing.”
Ngannou, 37, put on hold his MMA career to to face Fury, 35, in October, even dropping the WBC champ only to controversially lose on points.
Now the Gypsy King will take on Usyk, 36, for the chance to become the first ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight champ.
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Meanwhile Joshua, 34, had signed to finally fight Deontay Wilder, 38, in a blockbuster deal worth £100million.
But the American was beaten by Joseph Parker, 31, so AJ looked elsewhere in the direction of Ngannou.
Joshua has long dreamed of reigning over the division with all four titles to his name – now he could be two wins away from that.
His promoter Eddie Hearn said: “If you can imagine the winner of this fight against the winner of Fury v Usyk, it’s been a long dream of Anthony and his team to be undisputed.”
His Excellency even revealed a brand new undisputed belt has been created to crown the division’s true champ.
The title, draped in gold and silver plating with black leather, also includes stones and the names of previous champions.
And all four governing bodies appear to be on board as their logos also featured on the unveiling poster.