Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou: Fight purse, TV channel, start time, ring walks and full undercard

Anthony Joshua is back in action this weekend as he looks to remain in winning ways, hoping to work his way up to a world title bout. The veteran will go up against Francis Ngannou, who has transitioned from UFC fighter to boxer in recent times.

Ngannou gave Tyson Fury a real scare back in October, and he is hoping to continue gaining respect in boxing after making the switch. Ngannou was a UFC champion, and his superb performance against Fury was his first professional boxing bout. As Joshua and Ngannou prepare to battle it out, we have rounded up all you need to know about the fight.

When is Antony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou

Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou will take place on Friday, March 8. As ever, the fight time will depend on what happens in the undercard, but the bout is expected to begin at 11.20pm. Ring walks are expected to take place at 11pm UK time.

The fight will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and it will take place on Friday due to Formula One action in the same city this weekend. It's worth noting that the undercard action starts as early as 3.20pm.

Is the fight on TV?

Yes, it is, but not without a subscription. Sky Sports are offering the fight for a one-off charge on Box Office worth £19.99. Meanwhile, DAZN PPV are charging £19.99 but with the sweetener of a free month of DAZN which can be extended for £9.99 per month.

Both networks will allow subscribers to tune in via TV, PC or on mobile, with Sky broadcasting on SkyGo, while DAZN have an app of their own that users can tune in from on any device.

Who is on the undercard?

Here is the undercard in full. Remember that the undercard kicks off at 3.20pm UK time.

• Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou
• Zhilei Zhang v Joseph Parker – for WBO interim heavyweight title
• Rey Vargas v Nick Ball – for WBC featherweight title
• Mark Chamberlain v Gavin Gwynne
• Jack McGann v Louis Greene
• Andrii Novytskyi v Juan Torres
• Justis Huni v Kevin Lerena
• Ziyad Almaayouf v Christian Lopes Flores
• Roman Fury v Martin Svarc

Fight purse

The purse for this fight has not been confirmed as of yet. Though, reports have suggested that Ngannou will take home as much as £15.75million. That would double his Fury fee, and with pay-per-view fees, he could take home well over £20million.

Joshua, meanwhile, could earn as much as £39.5million as a base fee, according to reports, taking his likely overall earnings to more than £40million. Neither of those fees are confirmed, but it is common knowledge that Joshua will earn significantly more from this fight than his opponent.

What has Joshua said?

“I believe I can knock him out,” Joshua has said of his opponent. “Definitely. I would love to knock him out and make a statement. Physically I feel strong, feeling good. Strong enough to get the job done and mentally I’m in a place where I’m ready for war. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

What has Ngannou said?

“No one still knows what I can do,” Ngannou previously told The MMA Hour. “[Tyson Fury] was my first fight in boxing. As anyone, I’m just improving, and the gap of improvement for a beginner like me, it’s huge. I’m just a beginner improving. I think most likely [I’ll be] knocking Anthony Joshua out.

"I think that he’s easier to go down than Fury. I mean, not that he’s not a strong fighter. He’s a very tough fighter, but he’s easier to send down than Fury, and it’s harder for him to get back up than Fury.”