“They spoke about this fight before and I said: ‘No, it’s a gimmick” -Anthony Joshua on Nagannou fight

All is set for Friday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou’s much-anticipated clash. The main event will likely start at 11 pm after a series of undercard fights including a blockbuster between Chinese heavyweight fighter Zhilei Zhang and Kiwi Joseph Parker.

Ahead of the super clash, British heavyweight fighter Joshua disclosed his initial thoughts on Ngannou crossing from UFC to Boxing.

“They spoke about this fight before and I said: ‘No, it’s a gimmick,’” Joshua declared of the 10-round boxing bout. “It’s not something I thought was right, crossing over when I’m chasing heavyweight glory. But when they saw what happened with Ngannou against Fury, this opportunity presented itself again. I never turn down a challenge and we can now get rid of the word ‘gimmick’.

Anthony Joshua reveals he has turned down the opportunity once to fight Ngannou because his heavyweight ambitions gave him two thoughts about fighting the Cameroonian as he considered it a joke.

“I looked at MMA crossing over into boxing as a gimmick. But I can now see certain MMA fighters can box – and he’s [Ngannou] one of them. I see him as someone serious about boxing. When I saw his fight with Fury I thought: ‘He knows what he’s doing, he can handle himself,” added Joshua.

“Lots of people say he won that fight and I thought this is a great challenge for me because I need to figure out more about myself,” concluded Joshua.

Anthony Joshua has revealed that he initially thought it was a mere joke when he was approached to fight Francis Ngannou but after seeing him defy all odds as he lasted the full rounds against the undefeated Tyson Furry, he took Ngannou seriously.

Francis Ngannou, 37, in his debut bout in Round 3 floored but lost on a split decision against Tyson Fury whom super boxers have even struggled to deal with.

There’s no title belt in the bout but it is extremely important because if Joshua wins, many may call for him to fight Tyson Fury. A win for Ngannou will inaugurate him into the heavyweight business.