Punch of the century? Anthony Joshua stuns Francis Ngannou with sensational second-round knockout

Eddie Hearn speaks to DAZN: “I’m so proud of him. There was a lot of pressure tonight. People wondered if he lost to Francis Ngannou what would happen. He rolled the dice because His Excellency said that if we won this fight, we would fight the winner of Fury and Usyk. You’re looking at the baddest man on the planet right there, the number one heavyweight in the world, unquestionably. On this form, there is no man who can beat him in the heavyweight division.

“I told you he was going to come back and become the undisputed heavyweight world champion. There’s a brilliant fighter down there called Tyson Fury. Please beat Usyk because I promise you this, you will get the biggest fight in the history of boxing.”

Anthony Joshua speaks to DAZN: “On the road to the championship, you should always stay focussed. I thought this was something for the broadcasters to get behind. When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury I thought I want some of that. He is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities. I told him not to leave boxing. He’s two fights in and he fought the best.

“The Ben Davison performance centre, I appreciate them highly. All of these guys that I worked with until this day. I’m just hungry. Stay hungry and all that good stuff.

“It only takes one shot in the heavyweight division. Joseph Parker is one of my favourite fighters, he had it tough and look at him now. I’m just doing it while I’m here and making the most of it. In five years I won’t be fighting.

“Eddie Hearn and my team will shape my future. I’m going back to my cage and when they let me out, I’ll fight again.

“The people of Cameroon, I appreciate you. Africa united, respect. Everyone here tonight, I appreciate you. Thank you to Francis Ngannou.”

Joshua asked if he wants the winner of Fury/Usyk next...“yes I do,” is the response. Tyson Fury watches on from ringside. There’s certainly a touch less pep in his step after seeing that punch.

Full quotes to follow.

Got to wonder whether a return to martial arts should be on the agenda for Ngannou. He was completely outmatched there. It’s tough to get across how big that second right hand was. Commentators on the DAZN have just said they think that might have been the biggest punch they have ever seen live.

AJ has gone over to Ngannou to check he is ok. Fortunately he looks to have recovered. What a stunning, stunning punch from Joshua. He will surely wait for the winner of Fury vs Usyk now.

Ngannou is still receiving medical treatment in the ring. He just took two of the biggest right hands you’ll ever see in boxing. 

Patience is clearly the name of the game for Joshua here Ngannous can switch things up as much as he likes but he’s felt the power from Joshua now and will not quickly forget it. 

Another big right from Joshua, not quite as clean as last time but if he picks his spots here you feel Ngannou will be there for the taking. 

HE’S DOWN AGAIN! This time it’s the left from Joshua. NOW HE’S KNOCKED HIM OUT!!!!!

WOW! IT’S ALL OVER.

Cagey start already, both fighters staying on the outside and relying more on faints than shots. Excellent right hand to the body from Ngannou has Joshua back up against the ropes, before he scores with his own straight right.

Overhand right lands for Ngannou, who switches to southpaw after just two minutes.

BANG...NGANNOU’S DOWN! What a shot from Joshua and Ngannou takes almost the entire count to get back to his feet. 

What a start from Joshua.

...this is fun isn’t it. Show time in Riyadh.

Buffer never misses. Both men look in remarkable shape as they shed their robes in the ring. 

Joshua emerges in a more traditional white robe. He looks focussed and so he should. This is a little to gain/lot to lose fight for him. For the first time tonight, the atmosphere is crackling nicely in Riyadh. 

‘God’s Plan’ by Drake blares out around the arena as Ngannou walks solitary to the ring. The fact he’s even here is quite amazing but what does he have in locker against a fully motivated Anthony Joshua. 

...dressed in a delightful pink and white number. The excitement is building in Riyadh.

David Haye is impressed by the ‘biodynamic efficiency’ of Joshua’ punches having watched him war-up in his dressing room. Connor Benn says ‘fighting man’ Ngannou will be ready to make a statement.

...I will bow to the knowledge of Mr Davies.

Let us know in the comments below...

The one you’ve all been waiting for, Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou is next. Stay tuned...

Majority decision. Zhang can’t believe it. Not sure why. 

...on the ropes. He and his team think they’ve got this. 

“He’s gotta go,” is the message to Zhang from his corner. They must feel the scorecards are against their man now. However, there is little to suggest Zhang has it in the locker. He’s standing in the middle of the ring, looking like a sitting duck for Parker. 

Zhnag must let his hands go surely....it’s almost like he’s waiting for the perfect punch. This round could not have gone much better for Parker, he’s just been able to consolidate his narrow lead here. 

The bell sounds...this is Parker’s fight surely. 

Championship rounds it is. Parker lands a lovely combination, taking Zhang off his balance. He’s boxing better than Zhang here, you feel this is his fight to lose now. 

Crisp jabs continue to rain down on Zhang. They are having little impact seemingly but will be more than enough on the judges scorecards. 

These rounds have a familiar feel. A quick start by Zhang with a couple of big shots before Parker then ups the tempo with good scoring shots. That is going to make this fight pretty tricky to score you feel. 

If Zhang loses this fight, his passivity is going to be to blame. Parker can land four or five scoring shots a round and have a good chance of stealing a round. 

Zhang suddenly backing up a touch. Parker is the ascendency? Perhaps...

A cagey round. Zhang is back to looking a little passive while Parker is more active, looking to attack the body with combinations. 

He’s just a puncher Zhang in truth, there isn’t a huge amount of variety to his work but he has a weapon that few others do. 

Parker lands three good rights, two to the body and one upstairs. 

Zhang lands a heavy shot and Parker is certainly stunned by that, almost bending double as he composes himself. But this time PARKER IS DOWN AGAIN, taking one knee after what looked another innocuous right from Zhang.

Zhang doesn’t go after Parkert after that. Strange. Perhaps he’s worried about gassing out that later into the fight.

Better work from Zhang now, in close he lands three straight shots. Parker then stumbles after taking a solid left hand right on the button. For all his hard work, Parker will know that throughout this fight he’s just one punch away from disaster. 

Parker recovers well in the second half of the round. His work to the body will be noted by the judges, even if Zhang is landing the odd signature punch.

Zhang is looking a shade passive here but the memory of that early knockdown is fading into insignificance now. He needs to produce more against a more active fighter like Parker. 

Decent shot now from Zhang but Parker looks to be wearing that left hand better now. Perhaps that first one stunned him more than anything. 

Not a great fight thus far if we’re honest.

Good shot Zhang, goot shot Parker. This fight is bubbling up nicely now. The word from Parker’s corner before this round was that wanted to take the man mountain that is Zhang to the second half of this fight – the point at which his size will start to hurt. 

Parker is getting into his work nicely now. He needs to use all his boxing IQ and speedier skills to wear down Zhang. 

Zhang is on his toes at the start of the round. He smells blood here, although that could be something to do with the cut on Parker’s nose. 

Another heavy left lands for Zhang, there is so much power in that punch but Parker seems to have settled again. He lands a tidy combination to make sure Zhang knows he’s still there. 

A beautiful combination by Parker has Zhang momentarily shaken seemingly before the New Zealander is warned after venturing low with a body shot. 

More good work from Parker, he rocks Zhang with a big right. A superb comeback round. 

This is the most tactical fight we’ve seen tonight thus far, with neither fighter seemingly willing to commit to a full offensive game plan yet. 

Good work to the body from Parker but then has to wear a pair of short lefts from Zhang. 

And just like this PARKER IS DOWN! Massive shot from Zhang,that looked at about 50 per cent as well but was more than enough to put Parker on the canvas. 

Zhang ends the round with more heavy blows. A sobering three minutes for Parker.

Parker does well to evade a Zhang left but the threat of that punch is hanging heavy over this fight already. 

Parker looks a shade uncomfortable after wearing a heavy shot to the body but recovers well, landing a nice right to the body. Zhang looks so big though that he appears to barely even feel Parker’s shots.

Zhang is a big lad that’s for sure and fighting out of the southpaw stance he’ll be looking to land heavy left hands on Parker. It’s a steady start, with Zhang trying to lure Parker into throwing and missing, thus putting him in the danger zone for that left. 

The best punches of the round have come from Zhang, neat right jabs which back Parker up. The New Zealander is looking to attack the body of Zhang early on.

Hell of a stare down here... this promises to be a good one methinks.

...can’t take my eyes of Fury’s suit.

...‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen blares out around the arena as he marches towards the ring. This guy is the hardest puncher in boxing, bar none. 

...Tyson Fury will be part of his entourage during the ringwalks. Michael Buffer takes over the ring announcing...a treat as ever. 

Small delay for this fight. Not sure why but all I can tell you is that Joshua and Ngannou will not be in the ring at 11.20pm as promised. Strap in...we’re going late team.

A Portuguese, a geezer and Brazilian walk into a bar...

...and it’s a tasty one next. Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker for interim WBO heavyweight title.

Nick Ball thought he’d won it, his corner thought he’d won it, Frank Warren thought he’d won it. After taking so many body shots in that fight, this gut punch will hurt most of all.

Two knockdowns, no world title. 

A simple message from Frank Warren in the ring after this fight. Warren thinks the WBC will order a re-match. Ball deserves one. 

No-one’s happy. Vargas hangs on to his title but Ball might well feel aggrieved, and he’s every right to. By the end of that fight he was on top and I think he did enough to win that. 

...gut says Ball. 

What a finale we have here. Ball wins this round and he might well be a world champion. Vargas is stepping back here despite this fight being so close. Does he think he’s won it? 

Ball lands with a powerful straight right and then a left jab. Vargas must let his hands go here. Ball is still running head-long into Vargas, in the manner of a man who wants to finish this fight now. 

WE GO TO THE JUDGES!

Massive right hand from Ball on counter stuns Vargas again before he follows with another left hook. This workrate from Ball is extraordinary, he’s barely slowed down in this fight, if anything he’s got more aggressive. 

Vargas lands a left hand but IS THEN SENT TO THE CANVAS again by Nick Ball. Could that be a fight-winning punch?

More good work from Ball, as he stuns Vargas with a solid left hook. If this goes to points and Ball loses, he will regret that opening five rounds big time. 

Vargas lands a huge body shot, his best of the night, forcing Ball to stumble backwards. Ball responds though, swaying touch before weaving a right hand through the Vargas defences. 

A very tight round.

Vargas looked completely at ease only a few rounds ago but now he’s all at sea. He narrowly evades a big right from Ball bu is constantly backing up amid relentless pressure from Ball. 

Ball’s knees buckle a touch after a solid right from Vargas. The Mexican has steadied a touch in this round but you’d have to say Ball is still on top. 

As the bell sounds, Ball lands again and, again, Vargas’s legs appear to buckle.

Ball suddenly feels like the favourite. Vargas is suddenly struggling to deal with Ball’s unorthodox style having dealt with it so well over the first six rounds. 

Another big left from Vargas before the Mexican again falls to the canvas, full of complaints. There’s a look in Ball’s eye now, that last round was the chink of light he needed it seems.

At the very end of the round, Ball catches Vargas as the Mexican again attempts to fall to the canvas. The referee calls it a knockdown. Another round to Ball.

Ball starts this round possibly 6-0 down on rounds. He’s going to need to start swinging before long. Can he crack with Vargas code? He lands a nice right hand before trapping Vargas on the ropes and landing some heavy blows. 

The frustration appears to be more Vargas’s now and the terrier that is Nick Ball comes on strong. BIG SHOT from Ball and he has Vargas in trouble all of a sudden and he follows that with another big left hook. Vargas looks ragged all of a sudden as Ball continues his relentless progress forward. 

Vargas gets in Ball’s grill at the end of the round.

Vargas seems to be hoping to get something from the referee by continually dropping to the canvas after the collisions but as yet it’s coming to nothing.

Good work from Ball, who gets in close with Vargas against the ropes and unleashes a flurry of shots. Vargas gestures to him to come forward– he’s feeling confident here and with justification.

Be it size or quality, Vargas is a way ahead of Ball here. The man from Liverpool needs more, and quickly.

More of the same from Ball. It’s tough to see how he’s going to cause Vargas problems here as long as the Mexican stays disciplined. 

Better now from Ball, as he lands a left hook but takes one in the chops for his trouble. Vargas is such a smooth mover, sliding out of the way as Ball careers into the danger area. 

Ball is chasing after Vargas like a mad-man, running into him from a low height. The trouble is he’s not set enough to land consistent shots and his recklessness is allowing easy pickings for Vargas. 

Good jab from Ball but again Vargas responds well with a well-crafted combination to the body and head. It’s all a bit telegraphed from Ball at present and Vargas is too good to miss out. 

Closer round but another for Vargas.

When these two step into collisions, it’s vargas coming off the better. That appears to be frustrating Ball, who is chastised by the ref after all but judo-throwing Vargas to the canvas. 

Heavy shots to the body from Vargas before Ball responds with some good shots of his own. Vargas is able to throw with more abandon than Ball due to the distance from which he can launch from. Often, even if Vargas misses, the distance is too great for Ball to counter effectively.

Another round for Vargas you’d have to say.

Vargas is controlling the range well here, meaning Ball needs to slip one of the Mexican’s shots before throwing. Good work from Ball as he gets inside and lands a smart uppercut followed by a quick jab.

Vargas responds well though, backing Ball up with a couple of heavy shots. Vargas’s corner are getting onto the ref for a couple of illegal body shots by Ball in the clinch. 

I can’t overemphasise the height difference between these two. Nick Ball’s head bare gets above the top of ropes, Vargas towers over him. 

Ball is quicker to get into his work, dominating the middle of the ring before Vargas lands a pair of heavy body shots. The referee has a word with Vargas after a low shot but he takes control of this fight in the latter half of the first round.

...the featherweight world title on the line.

...all business for scouser Nick Ball. Rey Vargas less so. He’s entering the ring carrying a golden sceptre, in the company of unquestioned boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.

Next up we have Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball for WBC featherweight title. Have a look at the height difference here...

What a performance from Israil Madrimov.

Madrimov is replying to questions in a melange of Russian, English and Arabic. Tough to transcribe. Let’s just say he’s delighted. 

Eddie Hearn calls the winner an ‘animal’ and a ‘new Gennady Golovkin’. He calls out Terrance Crawford of all people. 

...and the new WBA world super welterweight champion, Israil Madrimov. Dare I say there was shade of Gennady Golovkin about that performance...

Massive exchange from the pair, both landing big right hands and the shots start to reign down more regularly. Kurbanov is starting to look more comfortable but is soon on the back foot after taking a massive left hook from Madrimov. He challenges Madrimov to come back for more but that was a big shot and he clearly felt it. 

Moments later....THE REFEREE STOPS THE FIGHT. Madrimov has stopped Kurbanov and there’s no argument from the loser. 

What a performance from Madrimov.

Madrimov’s corner want more from him despite the fact he’s thrown double the amount of punches to his opponent so far. The pair exchange decent shots but take them well – you can’t see conditioning or toughness being a problem here. 

A big cheer goes up around the arena. Is it for the boxers? No. Rather the fact that Jose Mourinho has just taken his seat ringside. 

Kurbanov catches Madrimov with a big left, his best punch of the fight so far, but Madrimov walks him down and lands his own straight right.

Kurbanov comes close to landing his first big shot of the fight but he’s still a little off the pace here. Madrimov gets in tight and lands successive short hooks to Kurbanov’s face, before the latter eats a big overhand right from Madrimov. 

Kurbanov is swinging at fresh air right now.

Madrimov with a big right hand, right on the button but Kurbanov doesn’t blink. He then lands again, a big overhand right following a solid jab to the body. Impressive from Madrimov. 

Kurbanov seems a little off the pace at the moment. He is a counter-puncher and therefore might be waiting for a Madrimov mistake. He doesn’t get one there and instead catches a Madrimov short left hook to the chops.

Madrimov looks the bigger of the two here. Broad across the shoulders in comparison to the wirey Kurbanov. Cagey in the opening stages as two intelligent fighters look go about their work. 

Nice left hand from Madrimov briefly knocks Kurbanov off his feet, he looks the busier of the two and lands another solid shot, this time with the right. 

That’s Madrimov’s round for sure.

This one will be 12 rounds and for the vacant WBA super welterweight championship. Plenty think this might well be the fight of the night. We shall see...

‘Can’t Stop’ by the Red Hot Chillie Peppers for Israil Madrimov as he enters the ring. 

...Magomed Kurbanov, who hails from the same Dagestan region of Russia as MMA stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev among others.

The news will not have past you by that Mike Tyson is returning to ring aged 57. He will face off against a man 30 years his junior in YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul, in a fight on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas and live streamed on Netflix. 

Dubious if I say so myself but...it sells, so I shall have to keep my tongue somewhat. 

Read the full story HERE.

...we have a clash of undefeated light middleweights Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov.

A great night for Mark Chamberlain. What a fine victory, but what a story of how he came to fight on this card. He was on his way home from the building site in Kent a couple of months ago, and had a facetime from Frank Warren. 

Warren was at His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh’s farm in Riyadh. Eddie Hearn was there, too, and they were finalising Joshua vs Ngannou. It was just hours after the Day of Reckoning and His Excellency told Warren and Hearn that Chamberlain was one of his favourite fighters, and wanted him on this card.

So came the call moments later. Chamberlain’s reply to Warren on getting the call ? “I’m driving Frank, I’ll call you back in 10 minutes....”

Luckily, Warren was able to interject and stop Chamberlain hanging up. Minutes later, Chamberlain agreed with alacrity and the rest is history. Hence, Chamberlain thanking the Minister in his post fight interview....            

...for Gavin Gwynne. The picture says it all.

That was a punishing four rounds for Gavin Gwynne. From the first second, Gwynne really felt Chamberlain’s power and in the end his corner made the right decision. 

Chamberlain looks a coming force in the lightweight decision.

‘Are you okay Gav?’ is the question from Gwynne corner at the break between rounds. He does not look at it as the swelling starts to slide down his face from the top of his eye. 

Credit to Gwynne though, he’s throwing hard here but doesn’t look to have the power to really trouble Chamberlain. Everything Chamberlain is throwing is coming off here. This is getting ugly now. 

AND IT’S OVER! the towel is thrown by Gwynne’s corner and rightly so you’d have to say.

The doctor has a quick look at Gwynne’s eye before that round. You feel he has to throw now beacuse he’s not going to have eight more rounds of swelling in that eye. 

After a minute the referee wants another look. Gwynne is on borrowed time here. This is a pummeling so far, with Chamberlain firmly is his groove. His varied attack is proving too much for GHwynne, who looks all at sea. 

Chamberlain is landing excellent shots here and Gywnne is suffering. He looks ragged early on. He’s just trying to work Chamberlain down but the Portsmouth man is too clever, sliding out of trouble before landing shots of his own. 

Every time Gwynne looks to be gaining some momentum he eats another big shot. I’m fairly sure that right eye is nearly completely closed already.

Chamberlain, fighting out of a southpaw stance, will be hoping to catch Gwynne with a big left hand early on. It’s he who is on the front foot in the opening minutes.

A big uppercut lands on Gywnne and that may have caused an issue to the left eye. It’s cut and the swelling is noticeable already. There’s no real defence from Gwynne and his face looks like it’s already seen ten rounds. Chamberlain was dominant in that opening round.

...here we go.

This one is 10-rounds and for the vacant WBA international lightweight title. 

Very, very, very good from Mark Chamberlain. He’s coming to the ring to the dulcet tones of ‘Get Up Offa That Thing’ by James Brown. Fully in my wheelhouse.

..is minutes away. Here come the ring walks for Mark Chamberlain and Gavin Gwynne.

We are still some way from the main event in Riyadh, so perhaps this is a little harsh but the atmosphere feels pretty dead at present. Hoping it picks up significantly as this card gets towards the business end. Loud house tunes the order of the day present.

Full disclosure, that is just my impression sat in London. Should anyone in Riyadh want to dispel that, please do reach out.

David Haye, part of DAZN’s team in Riyadh tonight, stresses the need for Joshua to approach this fight properly tonight. He says if Joshua sits back and allows Ngannou to wrap him with shots he will have a problem. “Ngannou is a freak,” Haye says, before confirming he did have the Fury/Ngannou fight for the MMA legend when the pair met last October. 

Justis Huni is now the WBO international heavyweight champion after that points win over Kevin Larena.

By my count we’re now up to number six on the tally of pre-fight Joshua/Ngannou montages. Some better than others...I’ll leave it at that.

We would normally transcribe these quotes but thoguht it was worth seeing the reaction of Kevin Larena, who just lost to Justis Huni in Riyadh, a day after the death of his mother.

Interesting to read the thoughts of Anthony Joshua’s trainer Ben Davison in the run-up to this fight. Remember, Davison was the man who worked with Tyson Fury all the way up to his first fight with Deontay Wilder. 

Read our full interview with Davison HERE.

We have an all-British clash as Mark Chamberlain faces Gavin Gwynne. The pair will have to go some to beat the quality of that last fight. What an excellent start to proceedings in Riyadh. 

...by unanimous decision. The right decision but you’d have to say that Larena exits that fight as the crowd favourite.

We’ll see if we can get some video from that last round. Truly fantastic from Larena.

Larena needs to start this round quickly and he does so, landing a good left that has Huni on his back foot but he needs a stoppage to realistically win this fight. 

WOOOOOOOWWWW! Larena lands a massive shot on Huni. His legs are all over the place. Can Larena finish this? He continues to land big shots but he might not have enough gas left to get the knockdown. 

Sensational final round but I think Huni will have this on points. In the end he did well to survive that onslaught.

Huni looks to have taken the upper hand here. His shoulders look relaxed and he appears ready to finish the job. Larena meanwhile needs to find something but he appears to be running on empty with a round and a half to go.

Big shot from Huni rocks Larena and his corner and calls for him to step forward again. However, two big breaths from the Australian suggest he might well be feeling the pace as well.

Biiiigggg left hand from Huni. This fight is still anyone’s and thus both will need to remain positive in these draining final rounds. Larena looks tired again and Huni’s physical size disparity is starting to show. A lovely head-body double has Larena breathing hard, before the Australian pushes his South African opponent off him as he looks for a clinch. 

Larena gets Huni’s hands up high after a succession of heavy, straight left hands crash into the Australian’s face. Great comeback after an excellent Huni effort in the sixth round. 

However, he’s quickly on the backfoot again. Is he feeling the pace a touch here. He doesn’t appear to be able to maintain his work beyond 30-second spurts.

This fight is in the balance. Good shots exchanged as we enter the second half of this fight. To their credit the work from both remains pretty neat in what has been a fairly tough fight. 

Blood streams from the nose of Larena as Huni looks to step on the accelerator. Lovely left ot the body is followed by a superb straight right by Huni.

That was his best round of the fight by some distance.

Huni’s little feints and fakes are causing Larena a bit of an issue but the South African looks better in this round. The constant bouncing and dancing from Huni will cause fatigue before long and he’s not making Larena pay for these misses. 

Larena traps Huni on the ropes and lands a good left hook and solid shot to the body in quick succession. Tough round to call.

Larena looks to get in close and work the body of Huni slightly more after advice from his corner. He momentarily has Huni trapped but a rapid one-two combination frees the Australian and he quickly goes on the offensive. Huni’s defensive work has really stepped up here.

Huni gets into his work early in round three. He’s moving better all of a sudden, pivoting smartly after a decent shot to the body. Larena meanwhile looks slightly more ragged. After a chaotic start to this fight, that was better from Huni. More controlled work and certainly his round.

Larena wobbles Huni and follows up another good left hand with more hammering blows. For a moment, Huni looks like a sitting duck but he recovers, landing a decent uppercut with Larena against the ropes. 

More good work from Larena and Huni looks seriously shaky. In fact, his legs look gone for a moment but Larena looks to have quickly punched himself out there, allowing Huni to recover and land some good shots of his own. 

Great round.

Good early work behind the jab from Huni but Lerena is the man coming forward, unleashing a series of vicious left hooks from his southpaw stance. Larena, remember, is fighting just a day after the death of his mother and it’s he would lands the cleaner shots in the opening round.

The fighters are in the ring for the next fight on our undercard. Justis Huni, from Australia, faces Kevin Larena from South Africa in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBO global heavyweight championship.

More from Tyson Fury: “I’m looking for an explosive fight. If Joshua uses the jab and moves his feet, he’ll win comfortably but if he gets involved he could get tagged like I did.

“I should have probably used my jab more and danced around him but I tried to jump in with the big power shots. I was having a lot of success early with the one-two and he was taking them to his credit. I then got greedy and ended up on the seat of my a---. But that’s boxing.

“The one thing I will say is, with his limited boxing experience, he doesn’t really the ability to set more shots up after he’s landed and hurt someone, like an elite level boxer.”

Some of the biggest names in the sport – Amir Khan, Eddie Hearn, Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang among others – have offered their pre-fight assessments of tonight’s main event.

Read those HERE and then let us know how you think the fight will go in the comments below.

Tyson Fury...reserved as ever when it comes to sartorial choices on a fight night. He claims he’s ‘bring sexy back’, in a ringside interview with DAZN.

We have Justis Huni vs Kevin Lerena in what, for the latter, is set to be an emotional occasion following the death of his mother just yesterday.

“Today I lost the strongest woman I have ever known,” Lerena said via social media. My mom fought tirelessly as a single mom to raise us, and her strength and determination will forever inspire me.

“Even in her final moments, she fought until the very end. She fought with all her might. Mom, I love you. I will carry on your warrior spirit. Tomorrow night, I will fight in your honour because you were a lion and you raised a lion.

“Your fight lives on in me, and I will always carry your strength with me. Rest peacefully in God’s kingdom.”

If you have not already familiarised yourself with Francis Ngannou’s remarkable life story, I implore you to so now. It is quite astounding that a man who was living on the streets of Paris not a decade ago now finds himself in this position.

Read Gareth A Davies’ exclusive interview with the 37-year-old Cameroonian HERE.

We’ve seen Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Roman, take his career record to 4-0 with a points victory over Martin Svarc. Tyson, as ever, attracted plenty of camera time sat ringside. 

We’ve also seen a sensational first-round stoppage from Louis Green in his All-British clash with Jack McGann. Just feast your eyes on this...

The highlight of the undercard is Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker for the WBO interim heavyweight title. There’s no need to wait, you can take advantage of these AJ vs Ngannou betting offers throughout the event in Riyad.

The following fights are still to take place ahead of tonight’s main event:

Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker for WBO interim heavyweight title
Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball for WBC featherweight title
Mark Chamberlain vs Gavin Gwynne
Israil Madrimov vs Magomed Kurbanov
Justis Huni vs Kevin Lerena

Already completed: 

Louis Greene stops Jack McGann via stoppage
Ziyad Almaayouf beat Christian Lopez Flores via decision
Roman Fury beat Martin Svarc via decision
Andrii Novytskyi beat Juan Torres via knockout

Tonight’s main event is scheduled to start around 11.20 UK time but as ever with boxing, plans can change. 

Anthony Joshua takes the next step in a journey that he hopes will return him to the very peak of the heavyweight division this evening as he faces former UFC superstar Francis Ngannous in a 10-round bout in Riyadh. 

His defeat of Otto Wallin in this same arena in December was the most convincing performance of Joshua’s career since he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in December 2020 and led many to wonder whether a tilt at a world title would soon be incoming. 

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have business to attend to first before that question can be answered and in the intervening period, Joshu has opted to face off against a dangerous opponent in Ngannou. 

The one-time UFC heavyweight champion gave Fury all he could handle when the pair met in October last year, even sending the WBC heavyweight champion to the canvas before losing via a split decision. 

That performance did plenty to underline Ngannou’s credentials as a boxer and make tonight’s fight far from just the money-making spectacle many assumed the Fursy-Ngannou fight would amount to. 

“They spoke about this fight before and I said: ‘No, it’s a gimmick,’” Joshua said of the 10-round boxing bout. “It’s not something I thought was right, crossing over when I’m chasing heavyweight glory. But when they saw what happened with Ngannou against Fury, this opportunity presented itself again. I never turn down a challenge and we can now get rid of the word ‘gimmick’.

“I looked at MMA crossing over into boxing as a gimmick. But I can now see certain MMA fighters can box – and he’s [Ngannou] one of them. I see him as someone who is serious about boxing. When I saw his fight with Fury I thought: ‘He knows what he’s doing, he can handle himself.’ Lots of people say he won that fight and I thought this is a great challenge for me because I need to figure out more about myself.”

The undercard in Riyadh is already well underway and we will bring updates throughout the evening, with the main event scheduled to get started around 11.30pm.