An action-packed night of ‘Knockout Chaos’ – live worldwide on DAZN PPV – awaits at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Friday, March 8, where Anthony Joshua faces Francis Ngannou at the top of another huge card in Saudi Arabia. 

With just one week to go until his blockbuster Heavyweight showdown with the former MMA king, two-time World Champion and London 2012 Olympic gold medallist ‘AJ’ has taken a special stroll down ‘Memory Lane’ with DAZN’s iconic lead commentator, Mike Costello, to reveal the fascinating inside story behind some of the key moments during his illustrious career so far.

From turning up in a George ASDA suit at his Matchroom signing over a decade ago in July 2013, to downing a pint of Forged Irish Stout with Conor McGregor, Joshua fondly looks back at a collection of key images from his incredible journey in the sport – before he switches focus to his new link-up with trainer Ben Davison and his plot to bring down Ngannou in Saudi Arabia before climbing back to the summit of the Heavyweight division.

You can watch the full video on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel with a downloadable free for use, 90-second trailer HERE.

The full transcript from the interview is provided below. Please credit Matchroom Boxing with any use, with reference to the fight taking place live worldwide on DAZN PPV.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

PICTURE 1: Anthony Joshua proudly holding the Union Jack flag after his London 2012 Olympics Games glory for Team GB. August 2012.

MIKE COSTELLO: London 2012. When you look at that, what’s the first thing that enters your mind?

ANTHONY JOSHUA: What am I doing here? You know, three years before that I was looking at a long, lengthy court case and a possible sentence in jail – and now, I’m the flag bearer of Great Britain. So, it was fun, but I didn’t know what was coming or how I ended up there, to be honest with you. 

MC: You’ve gone on to win a World Title, James DeGale did the same, but it’s only the two of you who have done that in men’s boxing from Great Britain (won have Olympic gold for Team GB and gone on to win a World Title).

AJ: Is it? Wow. I do believe that someone else will achieve it too. It’s like when the four-minute mile was first spoken about. It was impossible until someone done it. For now, it is rare, for sure, but I can’t wait for the next young lot of Heavyweights, or whatever weight they come through, and make us look like ordinary people. I think there’s so much talent out there that hasn’t been discovered yet. 

PICTURE 2: AJ shaking hands with Eddie Hearn after signing his first professional promotional agreement with Matchroom Boxing in July 2013.

MC: Onto the next one. This is handshakes with Eddie Hearn for your first promotional agreement. You look like you’ve been dressed by your mum for your first day at school!

AJ: Haha! Yes. I used to get my stuff from ASDA. George, ASDA! I’d take it to a tailor and get it chopped up for a tenner, then come and present myself to the world. You must remember up until this point, the only time I’d ever really have to wear suits was to court dates or funerals. Now I’m doing big business. From a young age, I always had a hustler’s head on my shoulders so I could stand strong with Eddie Hearn – an educated man, who’s come from a good family. I’ve come from a good family too, but for me, personally education wasn’t always my main priority. I felt like at this stage in my life, boxing wasn’t the hard part. Making sure my business was in the right order was the hardest part.  

MC: And that was the promotional agreement that you were so keen to, as you say, ‘hustle’ and keep control of your career from a management side?

AJ: Yes. There’s a saying in Boxing, where Boxing is the only jungle where the lions are afraid of the rats – because you’ve seen what many other promoters have done to boxers before. It wasn’t so long ago, in the 1980s and 90s, when athletes were being taken advantage of by some. It’s such a shame because you see them today – and these are my heroes, and the heroes of so many others – and they’re the guys who really made the Boxing industry work. Thankfully, Eddie has proven to me to be one of the best in the business. The Hearn family and Matchroom Boxing have stuck to their word, so I’ve stuck with them, and I would advise anyone in Boxing to look at them as a promoter and a promotional outfit. They taught me, not only how to navigate my career, but they gave me access to help understand how the business fronts. 

PICTURE 3: AJ facing Emanuele Leo in his professional debut. 5 October, 2013. The O2, London.

MC: And you’ve been good to them as well, and this is where it all started with your pro debut, almost a year after the Olympics against Emanuele Leo. 

AJ: Yes, Emanuele Leo. And 8-0 fighter. It’s good to get people talking: “Oh my god, this new boxer is coming in and taking on some guy who has had eight fights and won them… let’s see how he’s going to get on.” We did that and I got the job done. 

MC: What was the standard like and what did it feel like on the night, to come off the back of the standard at the Olympics against [Roberto] Cammarelle, [Ivan] Dychko, [Zhilei] Zhang and all the rest?

AJ: It didn’t really mean anything at this stage if I’m honest. I didn’t know what was going on! I just kind of trained well and gave my best. You must remember before then I never really had any intention of being a boxer. It wasn’t like, “this is my dream”. This was an experience, rather than a dream. So, I was just riding the wave. I call it a situation where if you know where you’re going, you can turn up to a red carpet and know how to walk down it – you’ll know where you’re going because this has always been part of your plan. But, for me, it’s like the red carpet has been rolled out and I’m just a few steps behind it as it’s going and I’m figuring it out as I go along. 

MC: So, did it take time to get comfortable in that space and in that environment?

AJ: Yeah, the pro ranks is different. No head guard, different gloves, smaller ring. Your bare. You’re fighting some of the toughest and best fighters in the world, so this was my learning time in the pro ranks. 

PICTURE 4: AJ with his arms raised during fight with Vladimir Klitschko, August 2017. Wembley Stadium, London.

MC: In this one, we move on to 2017 and this is you with your arms raised after the first knockdown against Vladimir Klitschko. What’s going through your mind here as the referee is counting?

AJ: I thought I had won! And I thought I was going to win it from this point on. This is round five and I went on to fight another six rounds after this. So yeah, I thought I’d won it but there was still a long, steep mountain to climb against one of the former greats in Vladimir Klitschko. What I learned after this fight is that there are levels. This guy [Klitschko] is the first guy who ever took me to 11 rounds and obviously he had the pedigree to be in that position to do that. For me, I’ve always said that I need to be a cut above the rest, so I went away to improve, change my style and so forth… and it has brought me to where I am today you know. That fight is the fight that brought to this point here and big-time boxing is back.

PICTURE 5: AJ ring-walking with British rapper K-Trap ahead of his win over Jermaine Franklin at The O2 in April last year. 

MC: We’re onto ring walks, how big and how important, of the entire experience, are they to you?

AJ: They’re not so much, because fight focused fight focused. There’s nothing bigger than a victory. It’s not how you walk in; it’s how you walk out. That’s my opinion. But at the same time, I do know it’s not for me, it’s for the crowd. I only do it for the crowd. I’ve walked in with no music before. It is a job. You want to get in there and do your job at the end of the day. All of this stuff here, like Prince Naseem Hamed – what a an entertainer, he was one in a million – but it’s not for everyone.

PICTURE 6: AJ taking a sip of Conor McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout immediately after his seventh-round KO win over Robert Helenius at The O2 in August last year. 

MC: This is Conor McGregor after Robert Helenius last year. Talking about entertainment and the whole package, what do you make of Conor McGregor?

AJ: Conor? Larger than life character. He’s someone that you can take inspiration from. Remember, we’re only here once and you have to love live life. A lot of people are like, each to their own, reserved, quiet and just getting through life. He’s someone that is at the forefront of live and living it to its full capacity in his own right – and I like that about him a lot. I like that about him.

MC: Is there any mileage in talking to him about what’s coming up given he fought Mayweather?

AJ: One million percent there’s mileage in talking to someone like Conor McGregor, and even if it’s just like a small gem. Something is better than nothing.

PICTURE 7: AJ triumphantly celebrating following his fifth-round KO win over Otto Wallin on December’s Day of Reckoning card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

MC: This was taken by a Matchroom staffer at the Day of Reckoning. What does that say? What’s the message here do you think?

AJ: Prayer. Don’t let success get to your head and don’t let failures get to your heart. I was just giving thanks, giving prayer – thankful for another day at the office. Success. I really like that picture.

MC: Three out of three wins in 2023. How do you reflect on the year as a whole? Franklin, Helenius and Wallin.

AJ: It’s in the past. It’s done. I don’t reflect on it in any way. We only look forward.

PICTURE 8: New trainer Ben Davison in the corner during AJ’s win over Otto Wallin at the Kingdom Arena last December. 

MC: Well, let’s look forward to this next one with Ben in the corner. What was fresher? What clicked? Something clearly did.

AJ: Belief. You believe in something. And I listened. I meet a lot of people that want advice but I know they don’t believe in what I’m saying, because they don’t believe in themselves probably. I believe in Ben, so what he is saying is just clicking.

MC: Which philosophy would you follow then; fighters make the trainer or trainers make the fighter?

AJ: Trainers make the fighter. Without a shadow of a doubt. You can’t do it by yourself. You can, but you can’t do it for a long time. Every good fighter has had a great trainer. Well the ones that I admire anyway. Even though people will say, ‘oh he trained himself half of the time’, that’s rubbish. Training isn’t just like throw a jab here and throw a jab there, it’s also like your approach, the gems and the wisdom that you get. The environment that a trainer creates. It’s more than just a trainer showing you how to throw a punch. It’s the mindset it takes to land that punch, and if it doesn’t land what happens when it doesn’t land. It’s all of that. Trainers are more than just someone who teaches you how to throw a right hand.

MC: What’s the role of Derrick James, if any?

AJ: He’s cool. That’s my guy if I’m in the States. I don’t just want to train for the fight. I want to continue training. I spoke to Derrick and Derrick rates Ben a lot. He wants to make sure I’m in safe hands. He was like, ‘yeah he’s a very good coach, I’m glad you’re in safe hands’. I feel like I’m in safe hands as well. The relationship is still good. But I’m going to be based in the UK.

PICTURE 9: A black and white portrait of AJ showing his Africa tattoo on his right shoulder.

MC: This was taken some time ago; it was in the Matchroom archive. The tattoo. This deep into your career, what does all of this still mean to you and your identify, Anthony?

AJ: Continue to search for greatness. Keep standing up tall in the face of adversity and in positive times. Back straight, stand up tall and just keep on walking forwards. Life if life, life can happen. Life will happen. So many things happen. I don’t want to start going into everything but when life does happen always stand tall. That’s it.

MC: That’s a map of Africa. Nigeria is pinpointed. Next door is Cameroon from where Francis Ngannou comes from. Is there extra inspiration here for youngsters all across that massive country that you can spread?

AJ: 100 percent there is. There’s a lot of inspiration they can take. Right now we’re at war though. There’s a civil war happening.

MC: And it’s the 50^th anniversary this year of the Rumble in the Jungle.

AJ: I said that you know. It does resemble that in a way right.

PICTURE 10: A black a white photo of AJ white the text ‘three-time?’.

MC: So the last one; three-time. I remember being on the ring apron for the rematch again Ruiz in Saudi Arabia, and before I even asked you a question you shouted two-time. How big is that this year?

AJ: It is big. I’m not looking past Ngannou. That’s my main focus. But we’re talking about the pictures. What I’m trying to say is there’s nothing bigger in sport than winning a trophy and in my sport it’s winning a belt, a Heavyweight Championship belt man. That’s massive. That’s what I go back to that picture before – perseverance. Keep on pushing, keep on searching. That’s why we’re going for the third time. How good can I be? And from that journey from the Olympics not knowing where I’m going, imagine now I’ve got a target, I know where I’m going, that red carpet is already laid out for me. All I need to do is arrive at the destination.

MC: And that kid we showed at the Olympics all the way back there might not be in the same company as Ali, Holyfield, Lennox Lewis – these three World Champions.

AJ: Mad. But you know what’s crazy about it all? No one ever lives forever to tell their legacy. We’re all going to pass on. So you’ve got to do your best while you’re here. That’s when you go back to that McGregor picture and you ask me about McGregor, someone who lives and loves life. While you’re here live love life, be confident, flamboyant, be an extrovert, don’t be shy – because at the end of the day when it’s all said and done, you only get one experience and one chance at life.

Legendary boxing journalist Jim Lampley returns to PPV.COM (which does not require a subscription),to co-host his popular and exclusive live viewer chat, in real time, during PPV.COM‘s live stream of the upcoming boxing event headlined by the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou heavyweight rumble, Next Friday, March 8, beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.  The Joshua-Ngannou heavyweight rumble will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Priced at $69.99, the Joshua-Ngannou event can be ordered by clicking here PPV.COM | Joshua vs. Ngannou.Below, please find Jim’s analysis of Joshua vs. Ngannou

Jim Lampley’s Analysis

“It’s obvious there are games of tag now ongoing both in boxing’s heavyweight division and in the relevant/irrelevant relationship between boxing and MMA.  Their effects show up as both logical (Joshua fighting the MMA star who made a sudden splash against his primary competitor for heavyweight attention in Great Britain) and illogical (Joshua projecting that it MEANS something to his boxing identity to do better against an MMA star than Fury did).  

“So how much irrelevance will the combat sports market bear?  Apparently, plenty. But having diluted some of his stardom both via a silly satellite TV vanity/reality show and then via the shock knockdown and disputed outcome of his tussle with Francis Ngannou, the once and future heavyweight champion Fury now turns back to serious business vs Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukrainian technician who twice outboxed Anthony Joshua somewhat in the shadow of Fury’s dramatic showdowns with Deontay Wilder. 

“Joshua lost some, not all, of his once-majestic aura in the two small margin losses to Usyk.  Ngannou is obviously something entirely different.  As time goes by and there are more and more boxing matches governed by boxing rules between boxers (Joshua) and MMA combatants (Ngannou), it’s clear the technical gap is closing, and the MMA stars are finding more ways to compete — see Fury-Ngannou and the disputed razor-thin decision.  But at the end of the day this fight, like its predecessors, takes place under boxing rules and that is still an advantage for Joshua.  And with his very near miss against Fury, Ngannou has supplied Joshua with a potentially vital wake-up call, a useful scouting report, and massive motivation to gain public relations ground by indirectly embarrassing Fury.  

“So, at this juncture, en route to Joshua v. Ngannou, there are some clear objectives in view.”

·         “For Joshua, make sure the boxing match is a BOXING match.  Use your jab, stay out of clinches, don’t get into a wrestling match against the rarity of a larger, stronger man.”

·         “For Ngannou, shoot the moon, take risks, swing big when you see the target, maybe this time the knockdown will stick.  Listen carefully to Mike Tyson if he is again in your camp, because a long time ago, Mike was classically trained by a legendary trainer, and he knows, as well as any active heavyweight, the technical realities of boxing.” 

“If in the coming months both Fury and Joshua win, it is on to the dream matchup in Wembley Stadium British boxing fans have dreamed of for years.  If Usyk and Ngannou win, that is forgotten, and we keep moving onward into the brave new combat world.”  

***********************************

PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, will offer Joshua vs. Ngannou in the U.S. and Canada.  iNDEMAND, the parent company of PPV.COM, will also be carrying the event through its network of cable and telco operators in the U.S. and Canada via providers including, Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Optimum, Fios, Rogers, Bell, SaskTel, and Telus, among others.

JIM LAMPLEY

Jim is a recipient of the Boxing Writers Association of America’s (BWAA) Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its 2015 class.  He served as anchor and commentator for “HBO World Championship Boxing” for 30 years and has covered numerous Olympic Games during his long and distinguished career in sports broadcasting.

About iNDEMAND and PPV.COM

iNDEMAND is an innovative partnership among three of the leading cable companies in the U.S.– Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. iNDEMAND is a company of trusted content aggregators and licensing experts, with unparalleled technical expertise and long-standing relationships with MVPDs, major sports leagues, Hollywood studios, and other entertainment and sports companies across North America. iNDEMAND delivers great content to more than 60 million cable homes and has distribution deals with more than 90 companies.  In December 2021, iNDEMAND launched PPV.COM, an innovative streaming PPV service and the first of its kind to offer interactive fan engagement during live-action sports.  With the addition of PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, to its existing cable PPV infrastructure, iNDEMAND has consolidated all forms of PPV distribution under one roof, making the company the only provider of turnkey PPV solutions for both industry partners and consumers.  For more information, go to indemand.com.

NEW YORK (February 23, 2024) — PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, returns to the ring, in its 2024 season debut, live streaming to boxing fans, in the U.S. and Canada, arguably the most intriguing fight in recent memory — the heavyweight battle between former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and MMA legend and newly minted World Boxing Council Top-10 heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou — Friday, March 8, beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.  The Joshua-Ngannou heavyweight rumble will emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Priced at $69.99, the Joshua-Ngannou event can be ordered by clicking herePPV.COM | Joshua vs. Ngannou.    

The PPV.COM Joshua vs. Ngannou live stream will once again feature Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Lampley, who will be paired with award-winning combat sports journalist Kevin Iole, co-hosting an exclusive viewer chat in real time.  Jim will also be providing exclusive fight week commentary and reports for PPV.COM‘s website and social platforms.

“Joshua vs Ngannou is the fight which should tell us whether the surprising result of Fury vs Ngannou was more about surprisingly good Ngannou or surprisingly bad Fury,” Lampley said.  “If Fury’s inability to master a decided underdog was caused by negligent training, inattention to detail, taking an MMA-origin opponent lightly, then an alert, attentive, trained and ready Joshua should handle that opponent with relative ease, and re-establish that boxing is a different craft than the craft through which Ngannou earned his identity.  But if Ngannou is the rare ring competitor who can transfer MMA skills over to boxing, he should show it against Joshua, who is slightly smaller and less physically imposing than Fury.  My first guess is Ngannou’s showing against Fury has created an incentive which will re-light Joshua’s fire, just what he needs after two losses to the superior technician Oleksandr Usyk.  That doesn’t mean Ngannou won’t have his moments — he’s proven he’s a formidable competitor.  But it does mean that in most instances boxers fighting within boxing rules have the edge against MMA gladiators, and Joshua has enough left in his tank to gain a form of public relations victory over Fury by beating Ngannou.  I say that from a distance, and I reserve the right to modify that outlook when I have had a chance to see them up close.”

PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, will offer Fury vs. Usyk in the U.S. and Canada.  iNDEMAND, the parent company of PPV.COM, will also be carrying the event through its network of cable and telco operators in the U.S. and Canada via providers including, Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Optimum, Fios, Rogers, Bell, SaskTel, and Telus, among others.

JIM LAMPLEY

Jim is a recipient of the Boxing Writers Association of America’s (BWAA) Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in its 2015 class.  He served as anchor and commentator for “HBO World Championship Boxing” for 30 years and has covered numerous Olympic Games during his long and distinguished career in sports broadcasting.      

KEVIN IOLE

Kevin is a recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s highest honor.  He brings over 40 years of experience covering the sweet science and MMA for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Yahoo! Sports, and his new and hugely popular combat sports website Kevin Iole.com.

About iNDEMAND and PPV.COM

iNDEMAND is an innovative partnership among three of the leading cable companies in the U.S.– Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. iNDEMAND is a company of trusted content aggregators and licensing experts, with unparalleled technical expertise and long-standing relationships with MVPDs, major sports leagues, Hollywood studios, and other entertainment and sports companies across North America. iNDEMAND delivers great content to more than 60 million cable homes and has distribution deals with more than 90 companies.  In December 2021, iNDEMAND launched PPV.COM, an innovative streaming PPV service and the first of its kind to offer interactive fan engagement during live-action sports.  With the addition of PPV.COM, which does not require a subscription, to its existing cable PPV infrastructure, iNDEMAND has consolidated all forms of PPV distribution under one roof, making the company the only provider of turnkey PPV solutions for both industry partners and consumers.  For more information, go to indemand.com.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (15 January, 2024) – H.E. Advisor Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, proudly announces ‘Knockout Chaos’ headlined by former unified World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua in a mouth watering match up against MMA superstar and now Heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou on Friday 8 March at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The event is being delivered to fans across the world by The General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, Goldstar Promotions and GIMIK Fight Promotions.

Previously the WBA, IBF and WBO World Champion, Joshua completed a busy and successful year on 23 December 2023 when he defeated Otto Wallin in five rounds in a headline attraction on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ in Riyadh, a fight which marked his return to the elite end of the Heavyweight rankings.

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Ngannou entered the world of boxing when he competed in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ against WBC World Champion Tyson Fury, which opened Riyadh Season on 28 October 2023. The fight boomed into life towards the end of the third round when Ngannou landed a left hook to the temple of Fury’s head and the champion was put to the canvas.

Ngannou winning the respect and admiration of boxing fans across the globe with a remarkable performance. Now, in what will be his second professional fight, Ngannou takes on the other most popular heavyweight on the planet.

H.E. Alalshikh states that: “‘Knockout Chaos’ is one of the most important events to take place in Riyadh Season so far this year, an occasion which will bring together yet more international champions from one of the most popular sports in the world.”

“I will be ready to go once the first bell rings.” Insists the two-time former unified World Champion Joshua“ I will approach this mission with laser focus until the job is complete. I am looking forward to returning to Riyadh and I would like to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the passion they have shown to myself and the sport of boxing.”

Ngannou pledges to continue silencing the doubters when he takes to the ring for his second professional fight.

“People have always doubted me and I always proved them wrong,” said the Cameroon-born star. ‘It is clear I am a trouble for elite boxers and AJ should prepare himself for a battle because I am like nothing he has ever faced. It is going to be another spectacle for boxing fans in Riyadh, only this time I have no intention of leaving it in the hands of the judges.”

Hall of Fame Promoter and Founder of Queensberry Promotions Frank Warren, added: “Friday 8 March in Riyadh will be another monumental event for the sport of boxing made possible by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and his team, with who we have established a brilliantly productive working relationship. Riyadh Season has opened up new and thrilling frontiers for our great sport and, in Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, we have a further Heavyweight blockbuster that will surely capture the imagination of fans right across the world.”

Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport and Joshua’s long time Promoter said: “This is undoubtedly one of the biggest fights in boxing and I am grateful His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh shares that view. We’re talking about two giants in Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou, two men who look like they are carved out of stone, two devastating punchers. We are ready for another huge event in Saudi Arabia and a night full of drama. After AJ’s demolition of Otto Wallin he steps up against the former MMA Lineal champ. Francis has already proved his credentials in a thriller with Tyson Fury and comes into this clash full of confidence and fire. This is one of the biggest fights in the sport and one that can be over in the blink of an eye. When these two meet in Riyadh one thing is for sure… it will be Knockout Chaos!”

Manager of Ngannou, Marquel Martin of 3POINT0 Labs said: “Francis has proved he’s the baddest man on the planet against arguably the best boxer in the sport. Anthony Joshua has earned all the respect in the world for his accomplishments, but on March 8th he will realize he’s up against a man who has been through it all in life in Francis Ngannou. Thank you to His Excellency and the KSA for yet another epic Heavyweight showdown.”

To support one of the biggest fight in combat sports history, the event will also feature one of the most impressive undercards in boxing history.

The heavyweight division will take further shape when the Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) defends his WBO Interim world championship against former world champion Joseph Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) from New Zealand.

Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs), the WBC World Champion from Mexico will make a first defence of his belt when he takes on No.1 contender, the Liverpool featherweight firebrand Nick Ball (19-0, 11 KOs).

Featuring on the card is a Battle of Britain at Lightweight, where top young contender and IBF European Champion Mark Chamberlain (14-0, 10 KOs) from England will challenge for the European Champion, Welshman Gavin Gwynne (17-2-1, 5 KOs).

Also performing in Riyadh will be Australian Heavyweight hopeful Justis Huni (8-0, 4 KOs), who will be looking to make his name in the flagship division (opponent details to be included ASAP) plus Cruiserweight prospect Roman Fury (3-0, 1 KO), British Super-Welterweight Jack McGann (9-0-1, 6 KOs) and local Saudi Arabian Super-Lightweight Ziyad Almaayouf (4-0, 1 KO).

About Riyadh Season

Saudi Arabia’s capital embraces one of the world’s biggest entertainment events every year during winter. Since the launch of Riyadh Season in 2019, the festival has welcomed visitors from all over the world to experience thousands of unique entertainment events, concerts, exhibitions and dining experiences. Riyadh Season 2023 commenced on Saturday, 28 October with a spectacular opening ceremony and the historic boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, followed up by the ‘Day of Reckoning’ on December 23 featuring Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker as the headline fights.

Anthony Joshua:
 
“Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything; my soul, my spirit, my mind, my body. We’ll see where it leads me, right now, I’m not thinking about any championship belts, or anything. My main focus is Francis, realistically, it’s getting through an intense, focused training camp, because how I train is how I fight. If I get victory in my training camp I am sure I get victory on the night. We’ll put the belts on hold because my focus is on getting through training camp and getting to the fight successfully.
 
(On Ben Davison) “It’s really good working with him and the whole team at the academy. They have helped a lot. I still speak a lot with Derrick James in the States, but being home and having someone just as good, I’m just searching for greatness really. Continuously searching for greatness, how to elevate myself, push forward in every aspect of my game, and this is just another challenge and during each challenge I find out so much about myself. Even though I already know who I am, I know I am going to discover new things about myself and things that can take me to new heights. 
 
“He brings two arms, a body, like every other fighter does. But it’s his mind that is different. Everyone has their own unique mind. In terms of the frame and make up, I’ve seen people like him and he’s seen people like me many times before, but it’s his mind that I have to conquer in the ring. You have to take their soul and spirit, and I am looking for the challenge for sure, it’s going to be good, explosive. There’s many ways to skin a cat, I can counter-punch, he can counter-punch. We can both box, we can both trade, it’s going to be a good fight – and shout out to His Excellency, my promoter, my team at 258 for getting me in this position to showcase why I am the top Heavyweight in the UK. I’m not really concerned about the world, I’m trying to conquer where I live and make everyone know that I am the one that puts boxing on the map.”
 
Francis Ngannou:
 
“Thank you to my brother, His Excellency, for once again putting me in this position to live my dream and have all those great experiences like I had in Riyadh two months ago, it was amazing. Hopefully this will be the same thing.
 
“I’ve been sitting here and listening to people talking and even Eddie praising me, and I appreciate that, but at the same time, I am not sure if he wants me to sleep on his guy – but that’s not going to happen. I am just a beginner out here that’s going to train really hard and do everything as the underdog to win the fight. 
 
“I don’t take my last fight as a reference, I know exactly where I am at, I’m going to get better and better and that’s how I see things. I’m preparing for a tough fight, the Fury fight was great, but that’s in the past and I have a new challenge in front of me, and I take it more serious now than before because now I think there’s something more on the line, which is probably the Undisputed fight. So let’s see, I will do something that no-one has done before and I believe I have the tools to do that, starting with having the win over ‘AJ’ on March 8 in a big fight – not an easy fight, but a possible one and I am going to take it.
 
“I’m going to fight him, so what do you think I am going to do? I will look for his chin. That’s what you do in a fight, you try to hit someone on the chin or wherever to try to hurt him. I heard he doesn’t have a chin, I don’t know if it’s true or not, we’re going to find out and I hope that I have the opportunity to test that – that’s my wish.”
 
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Chairman:
 
“Just to echo what Frank said, our thanks to the Crown Prince and of course, His Excellency. I likened this earlier, the whole experience, to Football Manager. Imagine being the biggest fan in boxing and having the ability to sit in a room and put fights together at the drop of a hat that the fans want to see. In just five months we’ve seen Fury vs. Ngannou, The Day of Reckoning, Fury vs. Usyk and ‘AJ’ vs. Ngannou, and so much more to come. This is such an incredible opportunity for boxing and it’s being delivered by someone that has an incredible passion for the sport, someone that’s unbelievably knowledgeable. I thought Ngannou and Fury was going to be a mismatch, and His Excellency told me I would be wrong. I said Callum Smith was going to beat Artur Beterbiev and he told me I was wrong. It shows he knows his boxing.
 
“I met Francis under a year ago in Las Vegas where he told me about his ambition to be in big boxing events. A guy with an unbelievable story, a very strong mind, but if I’m honest, I didn’t take him seriously. I have never known anyone to walk into a sport and compete and, in my opinion, and it was close, beat Tyson that night. It’s never been done before, and he might be unlucky that he’s not sitting here as the World Lineal Heavyweight champion on his professional debut.
 
“So now, we take him very seriously, and after that fight that we give him unbelievable props for, I said that the biggest fight out there outside of Fury vs. Usyk, is Joshua vs. Ngannou. We had signed the Joshua vs. Ngannou fight and as soon as that show finished on December 23, His Excellency said to myself and Frank, ‘we need to talk – what is the biggest event we can do on March 8?’ The answer was this and in my opinion you have the two biggest fights in the Heavyweight division happening within three weeks of each other in Saudi Arabia. It’s an incredible opportunity. For ‘AJ’, there’s big jeopardy in this fight. I truly believe he’s going to be the Undisputed Heavyweight champion, but he’s doing it the difficult way, going through what some might call immovable objects in the giant of a man to my left. The former UFC Heavyweight World champion, but now, a guy we take very, very seriously in the sport of boxing. ‘AJ’ is on a roll, he’s with a great team, and we cannot wait. This is a dream opportunity for the sport and we’re all so invested to give the fans incredible nights.”
 
Frank Warren, Founder of Queensberry Promotions:
 
“This is the fourth event of the Riyadh season and if it wasn’t for His Excellency and his team, the support of Riyadh Season and Saudi Arabia, these fights just would not be happening. That’s a fact. He has been instrumental in making these and previous fights happen, and instrumental in getting Eddie and myself sitting at the same table. We’ve just made another bog fight happen, his best against my best, we’ll make that event happen. This is just what boxing fans have crying out for, begging for us to make to make the fights which sometimes have not been financially viable to make, but now it’s changed. It’s happening so fast, and it’s one after the other, great fights, with fantastic undercards, it just keeps coming and coming and coming. We’re in the golden age of boxing, without a doubt, and if anyone doesn’t want to be on board then they are a fool. I’m very disappointed that Oscar De La Hoya should say what he said, he should know better than that; this is great for the sport. The fights are happening. And it’s down to His Excellency and his team, and at my age, I’m 72 next month, and I’ve never seen or been involved with anything like this in boxing. This is just brilliant, and if you are a boxing fan, you are in boxing heaven. So from me personally, and I think from everyone in boxing, thank you your Excellency for everything you’ve done to make these events happen.
 
“Prior to the fight with Tyson and Ngannou, I genuinely, genuinely thought it would be a tough fight for a short period of time but thought that Tyson would get the better of him and win the fight very early on. But it turned out that Francis brought something to the boxing ring that I never expected, and that was that he could actually box. We knew he was a tough competitor, we knew he could punch, we knew he’s going to be a handful on the inside because that’s the way that MMA fighters fight, but he was more than that. He was a switch-hitter, he got his timing right, and he put Tyson through one of the toughest fights he’s been through in a long, long time. He put him on the floor, I will say I thought Tyson had an off-night and came through it all, but this guy making his debut like that surprised everybody. I take my hat off to ‘AJ’ for taking this fight because he’s fighting someone that, OK there’s video footage now and you can see what he’s done in a boxing ring which Tyson didn’t have the benefit of, but what has Francis learned? Is he going to be a better fighter? I think for ‘AJ’ he’s in a tough fight, it’s Knockout Chaos because they both have bombs ion their hands, and it will be interesting to see how the fight develops. I think it will be explosive and for the winner, the big fight is happening on February 17 with Tyson and Usyk, and would we like to see them with the winner of this fight? Everyone in boxing would love to see it.”
 
Dewey Cooper (trainer of Francis Ngannou):
 
“The Tyson Fury fight was no surprise to us. We told you all from day one what was going to happen. The same thing applies here. We expect fire, but at the end of the day, the flaming fists of Francis will finish ‘AJ’ on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”