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According to the organization’s president, Anthony Joshua will earn the WBC’s No. 1 ranking if he defeats Francis Ngannou.
However, Mauricio Sulaiman insists that a potential fight with Tyson Fury will probably have to wait as he is already committed to a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Former heavyweight champion Joshua will face Ngannou on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This will be his fourth fight in a span of 11 months following wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.
Anthony Joshua may have to wait to fight Tyson Fury
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Ngannou will be competing in his second professional boxing fight after narrowly losing to Fury the first time around last October.
Joshua held the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts until his loss to Usyk in September 2021.
His career is back on track after consecutive defeats against the Ukrainians.
And Sulaiman says that if he is victorious in March, his journey to becoming No. 1 in the WBC will be complete.
He told Gambling.com: “Anthony Joshua was first ranked by the WBC when he started as a professional and then he moved up and was ranked in the top five and then number 2 when he Got a chance to fight for another title (IBF).
“He has had a sensational career and if he beats Francis Ngannou, he is number one in the WBC, whereas Francis Ngannou is number 10, so the winner will definitely be positioned for great things in the immediate future.”
Joshua wants to fight the winner of Fury vs. Usyk if he wins over Ngannou.
However, Suleiman casts strong doubt on the possibility of that battle taking place in the near future.
He says a rematch between Fury and Usyk is already in the pipeline and Joshua will have to rely on a late turnaround if he wants to fight the winner next time.
Sulaiman said: “We’ll see what happens because there are some fights that need to happen before we can say anything else, but Fury vs. Usyk and Joshua vs. Ngannou are both very interesting fights.
“The WBC has already approved Fury vs. Usyk and the rematch. We received the request and if the promoters put it together we would have already approved the rematch, so that’s where the WBC stands.
“If the promoters change their request for a rematch, we will certainly address it.”
Latest sports news:
Anthony Joshua will fight Francis Ngannou on March 8 in Saudi Arabia
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Joshua is the big favorite to defeat Ngannou, despite the former MMA star almost pulling off a huge upset against Fury.
However, promoter Frank Warren believes Joshua has weaknesses that Ngannou can take advantage of.
Warren told PA: “If I’m fighting AJ, what do I want to do? I want to take advantage of his weaknesses and from what we’ve seen, there’s a lot of that.
“We saw his weaknesses in the first fight against Tubby the Tuba [Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019],
Anthony Joshua has won three fights since last April
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“Plus the two fights against Oleksandr Usyk, we can see what they are.
“People have seen him faltering in fights many times, it happens to him too.
“I’m not saying there’s any confidence issues, but it wasn’t like he was such a strong fighter. I think he’s changed.
“He’s changed his style a bit, which he should. His new trainer.” [Ben Davison] “It’s given him some momentum, but he’s going to have to fight.”
