After nearly toppling Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, in his professional boxing debut, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, faces another of this generation’s premier big men today (Fri., March 8, 2024) when he takes on former unified champion, Anthony Joshua, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the “Fury vs. Ngannou”-led pay-per-view (PPV) main card right below. The main card broadcast kicks off on DAZN PPV at 11 a.m. ET (watch it here), while “AJ” and “The Predator” are expected to make their ring walks around 5 p.m. ET.
“Knockout Chaos” also features another pivotal Heavyweight clash between vicious knockout artist, Zhang Zhilei, and veteran Joseph Parker, the latter of whom upset Deontay Wilder in Nov. 2023 (watch highlights), and WBC Featherweight champion Rey Vargas’ title defense against hard-charging slugger, Nick Ball. Top Super Welterweight contenders Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov also square off for the vacant WBA title formerly held by Jermell Charlo.
Gavin Gwynne, Justis Huni, Roman Fury, Jack McGann and others see action, too.
Joshua Vs. Ngannou Quick Results:
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou
Zhilei Zhang vs. Joseph Parker
Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball
Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov
Gavin Gwynne vs. Mark Chamberlain
Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena — Huni def. Lerena by unanimous decision (96-94 x2, 98-92)
Joshua vs. Ngannou Round-By-Round Updates:
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou
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Interim WBO Heavyweight championship: Zhilei Zhang vs. Joseph Parker
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WBA Super Welterweight championship: Israil Madrimov vs. Magomed Kurbanov
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WBC Featherweight championship: Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball
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Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing via Getty Images WBA Super Featherweight championship: Israil Madrimov vs Magomed Kurbanov
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Lightweight: Gavin Gwynne vs. Mark Chamberlain
Round one: Two hours later, it’s finally time for the second fight
Both men trading jabs and straights, Chamberlain the busier in the opening minute. Solid combinations. Chamberlain landing some impressive volume as Gwynne plods forward. Nice uppercut. Clinch halfway through. Chamberlain eating Gwynne up with combinations to the head and body. Gwynne finally lands a decent right hand and gets clinched. His right eye is a mess as Chamberlain continues to tee off. 10-9 Chamberlain.
Round two: Gwynne firing the occasional jab or straight as Chamberlain tears into him with rapid-fire volumes. Lots of clinching. Short blows from Chamberlain, sneaking around and through Gwynne’s high guard at the halfway point. Four-piece combo, body shot, cracking left upstairs. Nasty uppercuts on the back foot. Clinch. Gwynne’s just too slow and static to get anything going as Chamberlain piles up the damage. Brutal chopping left in the final seconds. 10-9, 20-18 Chamberlain.
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Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images Heavyweight: Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena
Round one: Huni orthodox, Lerena southpaw. Huni light on his feet as Lerena slowly advances. Right hands from Huni, straight left from Lerena against the ropes. Huni finding the mark with the right cross as he sticks and moves. Double left hook to pivot. Lerena weathers some sharp shots, then opens up in the corner halfway through. Huni’s doing a good job of angling out when Lerena tries to pin him down, mixing straight shots to the head and body. Good exchange in the corner. Lerena backs him up, weathers a series of jabs and a right cross before tying up. 10-9 Huni.
Round two: Lerena buzzes Huni with an early 1-2 and presses the advantage with high volume. Huni weathers it and tries to blast through his guard against the ropes before getting clinched. Sharp jabs by Lerena. Hard right hook stings Huni again and Lerena tees off with a lengthy flurry before clinching halfway through. Huni now looking to crowd Lerena and punish the body. Hard straight right, not much coming back from Lerena. Clinch. Nasty combos by Huni, mixing it up to the head and body. Sneaky shots inside. Lerena wakes up and throws heat in the final seconds. 10-9 Lerena, 19-19.
Round three: Huni sitting down more on his shots, looking to get through and around Lerena’s high guard with combinations. Significantly outworking Lerena at the moment, circling and potshotting. Halfway through. Huni’s back in cruise control, outmaneuvering the flat-footed Lerena and picking his shots. Lerena tries to chase in the final seconds and they trade in the corner. 10-9, 29-28 Huni.
Round four: Lerena backs Huni to the corner, but Huni gets the better of the exchange before disengaging. The movement, accuracy, and variety of Huni are paying dividends so far. Slick move from Huni to reverse position in the corner and fire combos. Lerena’s just not doing enough. Halfway through. Lerena gets Huni to the ropes but again it’s Huni landing the more telling shots, even in bad positions. Lerena corners him and pumps the jab, then lands a glancing overhand left. Clinch. Slick combinations by Huni. Lerena lands an overhand left, eats a straight right in the final seconds. 10-9, 39-37 Huni.
Round five: Huni continues to do work on the outside. Clinch. Lerena still advancing, still not throwing enough to take advantage. There’s a solid sequence in the corner halfway through. Huni pumps the jab, eats a cross. 1-3, pivot. It’s become a bit of a sparring match, Huni prioritizing slickness over power. Lerena tries to open up in the corner. 10-9, 49-46 Huni.
Round six: Clean two-piece from Huni to start. Body shots from Lerena, then some good sequences in the pocket. Huni backs him to the ropes and both land two-piece combos. Brief clinch, hard left hooks by Huni on the exit halfway through. Huni slowly advancing, lands to the body against the ropes. They trade uppercuts. Huni still mixing his attack nicely, putting together clean power shots. Lerena takes the initiative in the last 10 seconds. 10-9, 59-55 Huni.
Round seven: Lerena cracks Huni with a straight left, prompting Huni to come back with a combo and do some posturing. Combinations from Lerena, now more active than he’s been in some time. Double left hook to right cross by Huni. Sharp combos upstairs. Lerena’s foot is back off the gas. Huni potshotting, heavy combo by Lerena. Huni backs him to the ropes and puts together a combo. Lerena extremely passive after that one big burst. Clash of heads. Lerena tries to explode in the final seconds. 10-9, 69-64 Huni.
Round eight: Solid exchanges to start the round, then a clinch 30 seconds in. Huni takes the reins again when they break, methodically working the head and body. Good combinations piling up for him. Halfway through. Lerena fires a flurry off the ropes and clinches. Hard body shots from Huni. High-low left hooks, clinch. He seems to be fully in gear, while Lerena’s output is too sporadic to retake the initiative. 10-9, 79-73 Huni.
Round nine: All Huni at this point, landing steady volume without leaving himself exposed. Lerena absorbing most of it without issue but declining to fire back. They trade in the center halfway through. Combo by Lerena, Huni tries a 1-2 in return. Huni backs him up to the ropes and Lerena wakes up long enough to throw for about 15 seconds before clinching. Huni cracks him with a clean right cross in return. 10-9, 89-82 Huni.
Round ten: Lerena comes out with some pep, but that lasts less than a minute before Huni gets back to sharpshooting. Halfway through. Huni gets a bit too casual, though, and Lerena blasts him with a counter left that has Huni doing the chicken dance. Lerena trying to get him out of there but he might be too tired to do it. Huni’s legs still look bad as he tries to fire back and tie up. Heavy 1-2 from Lerena, then another counter left that hurts Huni. Huni waving him on, clinch. Lerena’s just too gassed, falling into the clinch before whiffing on a last-second left. 10-9 Lerena. 98-92 Huni.
Final result: Huni def. Lerena by unanimous decision
For more on “Joshua vs. Ngannou” and other boxing-related events, click here. Full odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.
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