By Miracle Ogunde
Former World heavy weight champion and Nigeran-Britidh boxer, Anthony Joshua is set to clash with Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight boxing match happening in Saudi Arabia tonight.
The power-packed boxing fight between the two fighters will see them earn massive prize money and fight purses.
The fight is organized by the head of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Alalshikh, who is driving efforts to make Saudi the new home of boxing.
It was gathered that Joshua is set to bank a whopping $50 million [£39 million] from this fight, not including pay-per-view sales. While Ngannou is reportedly set to receive $20 million [£15.6 million], which is twice the amount he received for his highly praised debut fight against Tyson Fury last October.
This is Ngannou’s second time boxing in the ring and he is sure to provide a stiff test for Joshua, who is fighting for the fourth time in under a year.
The involvement of Saudi Arabia in boxing’s biggest fights has given rise to Joshua’s calibre of fighters benefitting from huge fight purses.
The money involved is a testament to the growing commercialization of boxing, although the focus will, of course, remain on the in-ring action.
The fight will take place at Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
The undercard is expected to start at 11:00 a.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. GMT, and the ring walk for the main fight is anticipated to take place at 6:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 p.m. GMT.
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