key events
The final undercard match began as Zhang knocked out Parker in the third round. It’s a gorgeous left straight that probably won’t move more than a foot. Parker finally waited for the bell, but with blood coming from his nose, which added a sense of urgency to a cagey and technical encounter. Zhang Da Bang’s advantage.
There was a special cameo ringside. A Portuguese football manager has taken his seat for tonight’s match.
Vargas defends WBC featherweight title in draw
Rey Vargas just retained the WBC version of the featherweight title The unbeaten starlet bounced back from a quiet start following a controversial draw with Liverpool’s Nick Ball, scoring two knockouts in the later rounds.
One judge gave it 114-112 to Vargas, another gave it 116-110 to Ball, and a third gave it 113-113. The announcement was met with a chorus of boos from the Kingdom Arena crowd, which grew louder as Vargas was interviewed after the game.
Next up: an exciting heavyweight showdown between WBO interim champion Zhang Zhilei and Joseph Parker, who held the WBO belt from 2016 to 2018. Next up is the main event between Joshua and Ngannou.
Preface
Hello and welcome to the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh for tonight’s crossover match between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou. The fight is being called a “knockout mayhem”: a 10-round fight under boxing rules between the former two-time unified heavyweight champion and a former UFC champion who has only fought in one professional boxing match.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs), 34, has won three straight fights after defeating Alexander Usyk and is still seeking another shot at the heavyweight belt. But the 2012 Olympic gold medalist has put those plans on hold in favor of a lucrative date with Ngannou, 37. Five months ago, Ngannou defied everyone’s expectations and scored the only score when he lost a controversial split decision to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Knockdowns of the night along the way. Fury may have won this fight, but Ngannou clearly won it.
That naturally makes Ngannou (0-1, 0 KO) a very interesting proposition in tonight’s sophomore bout. But is Ngannou really that good at taking on Fury? Or is Fury doing a poor job of ignoring the Cameroonian newbie? We’ll have answers soon.
We are about an hour away from the main event circuit. There’s a lot to do between now and then.
Brian will be here soon. Meanwhile, Donald McRae looks ahead to tonight’s game in Riyadh.
