Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard in FULL: Joseph Parker clashes with Zhilei Zhang and Tyson Fury's brother features

08/03/2024 12:51

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will be preceded by an intriguing supporting cast before their crossover fight tonight.

Boxing’s former unified world champion and MMA’s ex-UFC heavyweight king are set to clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the full undercard has been confirmed.

Follow live coverage of Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou here

In the co-main event, Zhilei Zhang (26-1-1) will face Joseph Parker (34-3) in a fascinating heavyweight showdown.

The two top contenders will meet after both picking up marquee wins last year.

Zhang twice stopped Joe Joyce to claim the WBO ‘interim’ belt, which entitles him to an eventual mandatory shot at one of the four belts at stake when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk clash on May 18.

Meanwhile, Parker stunned Deontay Wilder, outboxing him for a comfortable unanimous decision win.

Now, the pair will meet on March 8, though there are also two world title fights on the card.

Firstly in the featherweight division, Rey Vargas (36-1) is set to defend his WBC belt against Nick Ball (19-0).

The Mexican champion has been inactive and lost his last fight as he attempted to move up in weight, while the British challenger will fancy his chances as he is unbeaten thus far.

The 27-year-old hasn’t even won his first world title yet, but he’s already targeting a unification fight against Luis Alberto Lopez, so he doesn’t lack confidence.

As well as this, in the super-welterweight division, Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov (9-0-1) will face Russia’s Magomed Kurbanov (25-0) for the vacant WBA crown.

Further down the card, there is an interesting all-British lightweight clash between Mark Chamberlain (14-0) and Gavin Gwynne (17-2-1).

In another intriguing affair, unbeaten Australian heavyweight Justis Huni (8-0) will meet South Africa’s Kevin Lerena (30-2), who is best known for his three-round thriller with Daniel Dubois in 2022.

Also, Jack McGann (9-0-1) will return against Louis Greene (16-4) in a super-welterweight contest, Saudi super-lightweight prospect Ziyad Almaayouf (4-0) is set to face Christian Lopez Flores (14-35-2), and Ukrainian heavyweight Andrii Novytskyi (4-0) will fight Juan Torres (11-5-1).

Rounding out the card is Tyson Fury’s brother Roman Fury (3-0), who will continue progressing in the early stages of his cruiserweight career against Martin Svarc (2-0).

The 27-year-old started training with Tyson and Tommy during lockdown and lost loads of weight in the process.

He’s previously expressed a desire to build his own name and not get fights on Tyson’s cards, so this is a good step forward for Roman.

Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou full undercard:

• Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker (WBO ‘Interim’ Heavyweight Belt)
• Rey Vargas vs Nick Ball (WBC Featherweight World Title)
• Israil Madrimov vs Magomed Kurbanov (WBA Super-Welterweight World Title)
• Mark Chamberlain vs Gavin Gwynne (Lightweight)
• Justis Huni vs Kevin Lerena (Heavyweight)
• Jack McGann vs Louis Greene (Super-Welterweight)
• Ziyad Almaayouf vs Christian Lopez Flores (Super-Lightweight)
• Roman Fury vs Martin Svarc (Cruiserweight)
• Andrii Novytskyi vs Juan Torres(Heavyweight)