{"id":292899,"date":"2023-10-24T16:09:12","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T16:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292899"},"modified":"2023-10-24T16:09:12","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T16:09:12","slug":"francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/102\/590x\/secondary\/Boxing-5029863.jpg?r=1698161006796\"><\/p>\n<p>MMA superstar Francis Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury this weekend, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is already lining up a fight with Anthony Joshua. Ngannou faces WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia on Saturday in one of the biggest crossover events in combat sports history.<\/p>\n<p>Ngannou, 37, is a massive underdog against the \u201cGypsy King\u201d, underlined by the fact Fury has already booked a showdown with Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight crown, which is pencilled in for December 23 in Saudi Arabia. But the Cameroonian believes he has the knockout power to pull off a stunning upset in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>All but one of Ngannou\u2019s 17 mixed martial arts victories came inside the distance and his rise to UFC glory, dethroning Stipe Miocic in 2021, made him one of the most feared fighters on the planet. If he upsets the odds in Riyadh on Saturday, Ngannou has his sights set on Fury\u2019s countryman Joshua at London\u2019s Wembley Stadium, although he would have to navigate his way through a rematch with Fury first.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think we&#8217;re going to run it back for sure first, then maybe see Anthony Joshua,&#8221; Ngannou told Sky Sports. \u201cPossibly, I can&#8217;t tell, but I&#8217;m very excited by (fighting at Wembley). I was in Wembley Stadium when Fury fought Dillian Whyte, the vibe there was quite electric, was quite exciting. I think I&#8217;d like to have that dynamic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fury is a massive -1,400 favorite with the oddsmakers for Saturday\u2019s fight, while Ngannou is priced +750, meaning it would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport if the Englishman were to taste defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Ngannou\u2019s challenge is made all the more difficult by inactivity. He has not competed in the octagon for almost two years, with his UFC career coming to an end with a points win over Ciryl Gane to defend the world heavyweight title in January 2022. Ngannou has since signed with the Professional Fighters League but is yet to make his debut in the promotion.<\/p>\n<p>Joshua is preparing for a fight with former world champion Deontay Wilder which is set to be staged in the Middle East, but negotiations have dragged on and the contest is in doubt. Two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Joshua last fought in August, knocking out Finland&#8217;s Robert Helenius.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Advert-free experience without interruptions.<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Rocket-fast speedy loading pages.<\/li>\n<li> <svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"> <g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_1078_5986)\"> <\/g> <defs> <clipPath> <rect width=\"23.4329\" height=\"23.4329\" fill=\"white\" transform=\"translate(0 0.134262)\"\/> <\/clipPath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Exclusive &#038; Unlimited access to all our content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/logo\/logo-premium-subscription.png\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/102\/590x\/secondary\/Boxing-5029865.jpg?r=1698161006847\"><\/p>\n<p>Unlike Ngannou, Fury insists he has no interest in fighting Joshua one day. He told IFL TV: \u201cThat bird has flown because he is out in the cold, frozen, and that\u2019s it. [Joshua and Wilder] are not relevant to me and I shouldn\u2019t be relevant to them at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t mean anything to me, they\u2019re finished. They are out in the cold. I laugh the loudest now, it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/boxing\/1827425\/Francis-Ngannou-Tyson-Fury-Anthony-Joshua\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>MMA superstar Francis Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury this weekend, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is already lining up a <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\" title=\"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MMA superstar Francis Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury this weekend, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is already lining up a [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\",\"name\":\"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":712},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boxing\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/boxing\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft","og_description":"MMA superstar Francis Ngannou makes his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury this weekend, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is already lining up a [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/","name":"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-24T16:09:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Francis-Ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-Anthony-Joshua-in-sights.jpg","width":1200,"height":712},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/boxing\/francis-ngannou-sets-sights-on-ambitious-plan-with-anthony-joshua-in-sights\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boxing","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/boxing\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Francis Ngannou sets sights on ambitious plan with Anthony Joshua in sights"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}