Francis Ngannou may be lacking in boxing experience compared to Anthony Joshua, but he’ll have a distinct size advantage when the two step into the ring.
On Thursday, Ngannou and Joshua stepped to the scales at the official weigh-ins for their heavyweight boxing match, which takes place Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou was first to the scale, weighing in at 272.6 pounds, and Joshua came in next at 252.4 pounds.
Ngannou’s weight was slightly above that of what he tipped the scales at for his boxing debut against Tyson Fury this past October, when he weighed in at 272.2 pounds. The former UFC champion could weigh no more than 265 pounds when competing in title bouts for the MMA promotion, but he enters Friday’s contest with a 20-pound advantage over Joshua.
After the two faced off, Ngannou was asked why he always seems to have a smirk on his face when he and Joshua are staring one another down.
“I think sometimes it just makes me laugh a little bit because I know that, ‘OK, we are going to fight in boxing rules’ but what happened if it was just a free fight in MMA rules?” Ngannou said. “I would smoke these guys.
“I’m the only one to go in there backyard, none of them can come to my backyard. I would take two of them at once.”
Joshua spent much of his weigh-in interview time basking in the adoration of the crowd, but he did offer a succinct prediction for his duel with Ngannou.
“I deliver,” Joshua said. “I’m the postman.”
With a win, either Ngannou or Joshua are poised to challenge the winner of the May 18 undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Ngannou’s first pro boxing match ended in a narrow split decision loss to Fury, while Joshua seeks to regain boxing gold after winning his past three fights.
See the official Joshua vs. Ngannou weigh-in results below.
Main Card (DAZN, PPV.com at 1 p.m. ET)
Anthony Joshua (252.4) vs. Francis Ngannou (272.6)
Zhilei Zhang (291.6) vs Joseph Parker (247.6)
Rey Vargas (125) vs Nick Ball (126)
Israil Madrimov (153.6) vs. Magomed Kurbanov (153.6)
Gavin Gwynne (134.6) vs. Mark Chamberlain (134.6)
Justis Huni (243.2) vs. Kevin Lerena (232.4)
Preliminary Card (DAZN at 11 a.m. ET)
Jack McGann (153.4) vs. Louis Greene (153.2)
Roman Fury (224) vs. Martin Svarc (225.6)
Ziyad Almaayouf (144.4) vs. Christian Lopez Flores (142)
Andrii Novytski (239.4) vs. Juan Torres (255.6)
