Anthony Joshua reveals why he snubbed three fighters to take on Francis Ngannou in his own ‘undisputed’ bout

ANTHONY JOSHUA has revealed he rejected three other potential opponents to make the Francis Ngannou fight.

Joshua, 34, will face off against former UFC heavyweight king Ngannou, 37, in Saudi Arabia on March 8.

Prior to AJ’s win over Otto Wallin in December he had signed to face American KO artist Deontay Wilder.

But the Bronze Bomber was comprehensively outboxed by Joseph Parker on the same bill as Joshua’s stoppage victory.

And Wilder’s defeat left many claiming a fight with AJ was dead in the water.

Yet Joshua has now insisted he still believed he could have faced the Alabama puncher next.

As well as Wilder, a clash with IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic was also discussed.

And a trilogy against Andy Ruiz Jr was also in the mix in what would have been a follow-up to their two fights in 2019.

But once the Brit was approached about the Ngannou bout, he urged them to make the fight.

Speaking on The MMA Hour, he said: “I thought it might be Wilder still, because the contracts were signed, and it’s still a big fight.

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“It’s still an amazing fight, it’s a crossover between UK and USA, all that good stuff promotional-wise, it’s still a good fight.

“So no, I kind of let that one slide, and then it was the [Flip] Hrgovic situation, the [Andy] Ruiz situation.

“Then they put Francis there, and my team were like, ‘This is a good opportunity on this day in Saudi Arabia against this opponent. What are you saying?’

“I said, ‘Let’s roll. Let’s go.’”

Joshua is heading into the Ngannou fight off the back of three successive wins against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Wallin.

Ngannou is preparing for only his second pro boxing fight after narrowly losing by split decision to Tyson Fury in what almost became one of the sport’s all-time great upsets.

If Joshua wins, many will want him to take on the winner of the undisputed fight between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk – which is set for February 17.

AJ has already lost twice to Usyk, but a blockbuster all-British dust-up with Fury has never materialised.

However, when asked about the possibility of facing Fury or Usyk, he added: “Let me say this again, I’m not focusing on [facing the Fury-Usyk winner].

“I’m going to take my mind, I have to draw it back that Ngannou is my undisputed title fight. That’s the mentality I have to have.

“Ngannou is my undisputed fight. Because you’re only as good as your last fight, and I respect him a lot. He ain’t easy money. He’s a hard night’s work.

“And you know what’s crazy? So am I. I’m a hard night’s work for anyone. So let’s go, it’s going to be fireworks.”

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk