Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are set to earn career paydays for their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 8.
The British heavyweight was set to fight Deontay Wilder, only for their bout to collapse after the American’s defeat to Joseph Parker at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card just before Christmas.
He will instead face Ngannou, who could perhaps count himself unlucky not to have a victory over Tyson Fury to his name – after narrowly losing on a split-decision to the Gypsy King in October.
Sport Business Journal report that Joshua will bank around £31m from his clash with the former UFC star.
Ngannou would receive around half that amount at £16m – though this is still double the amount that he made from his closely fought defeat to Fury.
Anthony Joshua is set to earn a jaw-dropping purse for his fight with Francis Ngannou
Ngannou, meanwhile, will receive double the amount he got for his bout with Tyson Fury
Mail Sport revealed on Saturday that the pair would fight on March 8, in what will be a 10-round bout.
After the news was revealed, Joshua shared a photo of himself wrapping his hands on Instagram with the caption: ‘Ahh s***, here we go again.. 8/3/24.’
According to a report from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Wilder could still feature on the event’s undercard, with a fight against Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang being discussed.
AJ stated his interest in fighting Ngannou after the former UFC star broke into the WBC’s top 10 heavyweight rankings after his first professional boxing match.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said he expects his fighter, Joshua, to knock Ngannou out during their match.
He told MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani: ‘I feel like he’s earned that shot – or certainly to continue at that level. And I fancy the fight.
Joshua will reportedly bank around £31m for his fight with the former UFC star in Saudi
Joshua’s fight with Deontay Wilder fell through after the American’s loss to Joseph Parker
‘You’ve heard me say before, I really believe AJ knocks him out. But he’s a dangerous fight. I know that this guy’s a big, big lump that can really punch, and I think he has no fear, which makes him dangerous.
‘But I just feel like AJ’s in a great place, and I expect him to pick him apart and knock him out.’
Joshua goes into the fight off the back of a successful 2023, with victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.