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Mike Coppinger
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Nick Parkinson
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Nick Parkinson
- •Reports on boxing for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers
•Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years
•Appears on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou returns to the boxing ring to face former unified and two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua in a 10-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.
Ngannou, 0-1 in boxing, made his debut in the ring against heavyweight lineal champion Tyson Fury and lost a close split decision, even dropping Fury with a left hook in Round 3.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) defeated Wladimir Klitschko in April 2107 to win the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles. Joshua added the WBO belt by defeating Joseph Parker a year later but then lost the titles to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019. He regained them in the rematch six months later and made one defense before losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua had been expected to face Deontay Wilder, but Wilder lost a unanimous decision to Parker in December, opening the door for Ngannou to step in.
Also on the card, Zhilei Zhang defends his WBO interim heavyweight title against Parker; Rey Vargas puts his WBC featherweight belt on the line against Nick Ball, and Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov fight for the vacant WBA “super” junior middleweight title.
Stay here for live results and analysis from Mike Coppinger and Nick Parkinson.