Anthony Joshua will always be a world champion. He may have lost the belts, but the records won’t change. He spent a total of 59 months as heavyweight champion of the world, 35 of those as unified champ. He’s achieved what all boxers dream of. But that won’t stop him being hungry for more.

And the British fighter is on the road to another shot at the world title. He’s in line for a bout against the winner of the showdown between current WBC champ Tyson Fury and Oleksadr Usyk, who holds the other heavyweight belts – but that was postponed after Fury suffered a bad cut. While he waits, who better for AJ to face than Fury’s toughest recent opponent?

You can see the fight between Joshua and Francis Ngannou – billed as Knockout Chaos – live on DAZN with Virgin Media, with all the action including undercard and ring walks starting at 3pm on Friday 8 March. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the background to this fight?

Joshua defeated Otto Wallin convincingly on boxing’s Day Of Reckoning just before Christmas – an event that also featured another former world champ in Deontay Wilder, and the assumption was that AJ and Wilder would win their bouts and face each other next. But Joseph Parker showed up Wilder’s under-preparation by comprehensively outboxing him to score a unanimous points victory. With Joshua’s title shot still on the horizon, he needed to pivot to another opponent.

Former UFC star Ngannou might not seem the obvious option, with just one pro boxing fight behind him. But what a fight that was. When the Cameroonian faced Tyson Fury in October, some critics suggested it was a freakish sideshow. Fury, however, trained as seriously as he would for a title fight – and he was proved right when Ngannou put him on the canvas in the third.

Despite Ngannou’s punching power, Fury persisted and eventually his greater skill and experience took him to a split decision victory. But Joshua and his promoters had seen enough to know that Ngannou would be a proper opponent. 

How has the build-up been?

Respectful – up to a point. Perhaps recognising that there’s no sense disparaging an opponent with limited boxing credentials, Joshua has been complimentary towards Ngannou. “Francis is like other fighters in physicality but different in mindset. That’s what I need to conquer. We can both adapt our fighting styles, making this an exciting fight.”

Ngannou returned the appreciation. “This is my second boxing match and I’m fighting one of the best, one of the top three, after fighting another top three. So in two of my fights in boxing I’m going to fight potentially the best in the world.” The two shook hands when facing off at the press conference, a moment when many fighters start to turn hostile.

Joshua did bristle somewhat when his opponent mentioned his possible vulnerability. “I heard he doesn’t have a chin,” Ngannou said. “I don’t know if it’s true or not. We’re going to find out.” AJ retorted, “Who has knocked me out?” It’s true  – his two defeats to Usyk were by decision, although he did suffer a TKO against Andy Ruiz in 2019.

What can we expect from the fight?

A tough battle, although one which Joshua is overwhelmingly favoured to win. As with Fury, his greater boxing nous gives him a huge advantage. But it’s unlikely to be a one-sided battering that ends prematurely. Ngannou – whose punch was once recorded as the hardest in the world – knows he can hurt even top-class opponents, and his ability to throw penetrating lefts whether in an orthodox or a southpaw stance certainly confused Fury.

Over 10 three-minute rounds, AJ will have to be watchful and wary, and fans can be confident that there’ll be plenty of entertainment on show.

How do they measure up?

Who’s on the undercard?

Joseph Parker, conqueror of Deontay Wilder at the Day of Reckoning, will be back in the ring here. The New Zealander faces Zhang Zhilei for the Chinese fighter’s WBO interim belt. Britain’s Nick Ball will take on Rey Vargas, smarting from his first pro defeat against O’Shaquie Foster, for the WBC featherweight championship. There’s an all-British lightweight fight between Mark Chamberlain and Gavin Gwynne, and a super welterweight clash when Israil Madrimov faces Magomed Kurbanov.

When is Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou on TV?

You can see this fight on DAZN with Virgin Media from 3pm on Friday 8 March 2024. It’s available to order from 10am on Monday 4 March and costs £19.99. And even better, this payment will also entitle you to a month’s subscription to DAZN, allowing you to enjoy a month of superb sporting action on DAZN.

The event cannot be recorded and will be repeated on Saturday 9 March at 10am and 5pm (last playout).

The purchase will include access to the fight and will also entitle you to redeem one month’s access to DAZN – please see details at point of purchase. Promotion is owned and operated by DAZN.

How can I order the fight?

To watch this event, you must have a TiVo^® box, Virgin TV V6 box, powered by TiVo^®, a Virgin TV 360 box or Stream.

TiVo^® and V6 customers: Go to Home > On Demand > Live Events or press On Demand and go to Live Events. Press the red button then choose the event and follow the instructions on screen. A TV PIN may not be required. To view your booking, once purchased, go to On Demand > Live Events > Event Bookings.

Virgin TV 360 and Stream customers: Go to Home > Pay Per View rail. Press OK, then choose the event and follow the instructions on screen. A TV PIN may not be required. To view your booking, once purchased, go to Home > Pay Per View rail.