Joshua vs Ngannou Odds, Preview, Picks & Prediction

Introduction to Joshua vs Ngannou

UFC Champion Francis Ngannou is certainly jumping into the boxing world at the deep end. After nearly pulling off an almighty upset last October when he suffered a narrow loss to Tyson Fury, he will once again enter the squared circle against another big name British boxer, Anthony Joshua. The bout will take place this Friday, March 8, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is scheduled for 10 rounds.

Joshua is coming into this one in decent form, following a dominant fifth-round stoppage victory over Otto Wallin in December. It was the first time we had seen AJ since he linked up with trainer Ben Davison and it was an impressive first outing under him as the spiteful Joshua of old was evident and the former unified champion looked as good as he has in years.

Joshua vs. Ngannou Odds

There is now no surprise factor with Ngannou. Nobody could have predicted how he would take to the art of boxing before he stepped in the ring with Fury. Sure, there is a narrative out there that Fury didn’t take the fight seriously at all. Although the Fury camp still claim ‘The Gypsy King’ prepared diligently throughout his 12 week training camp, he looked nothing like the fighter who overcame Deontay Wilder twice.

Fury certainly looked sluggish in the fight, his timing was all over the place and he just couldn’t get anything going. However, with all of that said, Ngannou proved that he knows his way around a boxing ring. Although, thanks to his MMA background he has experience in combat sports, he is a boxing novice taking on the uneaten heavyweight champion of the world. He can clearly bang, knocking down Fury and nearly stunning the whole boxing fraternity in the process but he also showed how durable he is and that he can last the pace.

There will be no such questions about AJ’s preparation. A former Olympian, Joshua has always been on it in camp and his team will have covered every avenue to ensure victory. These are vital times in Joshua’s career, a win here will almost guarantee him a shot at the winner of Fury vs. Usyk and a chance to become unified heavyweight champ. He surely knows this and will not cut corners.

Joshua vs. Ngannou Prediction

Both of these fighters carry tremendous power. Ngannou built up a reputation throughout his MMA career as one of the most ferocious puncher in the world. When you consider that 24 of Joshua’s 27 victories have also come inside the distance, there is a fair chance this will not go the full 10 rounds.

The big question, which has been hanging around AJ ever since his defeat to Andy Ruiz, is that is he still slightly shot-shy? In his early years, he was super aggressive, getting guys out of there with punishing combinations and speed. However, in the fights since that Ruiz loss, he has been more cautious, not letting that raw power show and preferring to jab and move rather than going for uppercuts or hooks.

Ngannou will be relying on that one shot, similar to the one he landed on Fury, to win this. But I feel AJ will be too clever and has too much ring craft to allow himself to get caught. My prediction is for AJ to win via KO between rounds 5-8.

There is simply too much on the line at this stage for AJ to take his eye off the ball. He knows he is on the precipice of greatness again, and he has built himself back up following devastating losses to Usyk. However, don’t blink in this one.