Anthony Joshua hasn’t been guaranteed a mandatory world title shot if he beats Francis Ngannou in their crossover fight.
Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua welcomes Ngannou back into the ring on March 8 after the ex-UFC champion’s stunning boxing debut against Tyson Fury. Ngannou dropped the heavyweight champion and only lost by one point in a controversial decision and will now look to win his first boxing fight against Joshua.
Joshua and Ngannou were told the winner of their fight will get a chance to fight either Fury or Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed belts. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman isn’t seemingly on the same page as he told Gambling.com : “Anthony Joshua was first ranked by the WBC when he started as a professional and then he kept moving up.
“He was ranked inside the top five and then number 2 ranked when he received the opportunity to fight for another title [IBF]. He has had a sensational career and if he beats Francis Ngannou, then he is number one in the WBC while Francis Ngannou is number 10 so the winner will certainly be positioned for great things in the immediate future.”
“The WBC already sanctioned Fury v Usyk and the rematch. We received the request and have already accepted a rematch if the promoters put it together so that’s where the WBC stands. If the promoters change their request for the rematch, we will certainly address it
Joshua and Ngannou sized each other up for the first time at a launch press conference in London earlier this month. Ngannou isn’t interested in fighting for a world title anytime soon and Joshua admitted he has put his quest to become a three-time heavyweight champion on hold for now.
“Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything, my soul, my spirit, my mind, my body,” Joshua said. “We’ll see where it leads me but at the moment I’m not thinking about championship belts or anything other than Francis. We’re putting the belts on hold, I’m searching for greatness.”
