Anthony Joshua is in line for a shot at the undisputed heavyweight championship should he get past Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on March 8.
Joshua, a two-time title holder, enjoyed his best performance in years when he stopped Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia last December and now takes on Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, who exceeded all expectations on his professional boxing debut against WBC champion Tyson Fury.
The Joshua-Ngannou bout, which will headline a card billed as 'Knockout Chaos', was announced in London on Monday as the fourth big event of Riyadh Season. The third will take place on February 17 when Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight to determine boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years.
And at the outset of the press conference, Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment in Saudi Arabia, revealed he plans to pair the winners in a bout in the kingdom later in 2024.
"You understand now why there is Joshua v Ngannou... You will see the result of this match will connect [with] the result of February 17, this is our idea," said Alalshikh, who also outlined his plans for an undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in June.
Joshua (27-3) returned to form in spectacular fashion with his five-round demolition of Wallin on December 23's 'Day of Reckoning' card, but insisted he wasn't looking past Ngannou – despite his aim of becoming a three-time world champion inching ever closer.
He said: "Every fight leads to somewhere so this fight is my everything... we will see where it leads me. Right now I am not thinking about any championship belts or anything, my main focus is Francis and on getting through an intense and focused training camp. How I train is how I fight, so if I get victory in my training camp then I am sure I will get victory on the night, so that is all I am focused on. Right now, the belts are on hold."
Ngannou, meanwhile, admitted he is relishing the opportunity to upset the odds again. He showed good fundamentals, rattled and dropped Fury before losing a split decision in a 10-rounder in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
"The Tyson Fury fight was great, it was awesome, but that's in the past now," he said. "I have a new challenge and one I take even more seriously as there is something more on the line which could be the undisputed title. Let's see, maybe I will do something nobody has ever done before. I believe I have the tools to do that, starting with a win against AJ on March 8 in Riyadh. It will be a good fight. Not an easy one, but not an impossible one."
Promoter Frank Warren revealed both the February 17 and March 8 undercards will be announced "in the coming days", with a showdown between New Zealand's Joseph Parker and China's Zhilei Zhang strongly tipped to be the March 8 co-feature.
Joshua's next fight was meant to be against knockout artist Deontay Wilder but Parker derailed those plans when he comfortably outpointed the American on December 23. His reward for pulling off that upset is likely to be a fight with Zhang, who confirmed his status as the heavyweight bogeyman with a pair of victories over the division's previous bogeyman, Joe Joyce.
A world cruiserweight title rematch between Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis is in play for February 17 underneath the Fury-Usyk fight, as is a super-featherweight title clash between Joe Cordina and Anthony Cacace.
Meanwhile, Alalshikh confirmed his plans to bring an undisputed light-heavyweight unification to the kingdom in June. Beterbiev bludgeoned Callum Smith into submission in seven rounds to retain the IBF, WBO and WBC titles on Saturday night. His Russian rival Bivol owns the WBA strap.
"I want to see Artur [Beterbiev] and [Dmitry] Bivol, and I want to see it in June. I will speak to [promoters] Top Rank," said Alalshikh.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
UAE%20FIXTURES
%3Cp%3EWednesday%2019%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3EFriday%2021%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3ESunday%2023%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Singapore%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2026%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2029%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%3Cbr%3ESunday%2030%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Third%20position%20match%3Cbr%3EMonday%201%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Final%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
