Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou will head into his bout with former world champion Anthony Joshua with a sizeable weight advantage after the pair weighed in in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Ngannou looked huge as he stepped onto the scale and registered an official weight of 272.6 pounds ahead of the eagerly-anticipated heavyweight clash at the event, Knockout Chaos, which takes place Friday night.
Despite some wondering if he would bulk up to combat Ngannou’s strength on the inside, Joshua arrived on the scale at 252.4 pounds, just one pound heavier than he weighed for his previous bout against Otto Wallin last December.
Queensberry Promotions
After completing their weigh-in obligations, the pair went head to head in their final faceoff as the final pre-fight commitments were wrapped up ahead of fight night in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the pair weighing in at a combined 525 pounds, Joshua and Ngannou wasn’t the heaviest matchup confirmed for the card. That honour goes to the co-main event, as China’s Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker combined for a huge 539.2 pounds.
Queensberry Promotions
Parker tipped the scale at 247.6 pounds for the WBC interim heavyweight title bout, but his weight was dwarfed by six-foot-six Chinese champ Zhang, who arrived on the scale at a colossal 291.6 pounds.
Also set for championship action on the card are Rey Vargas and Nick Ball, who will do battle for Vargas’ WBC featherweight title, and Israil Madrimov and Magomed Kurbanov, who will face off for the vacant WBA super-welterweight title.
Queensberry Promotions
Knockout Chaos: Official weigh-in results
- Anthony Joshua (252.4) vs. Francis Ngannou (272.6)
- Zhilei Zhang (291.6) vs. Joseph Parker (247.6) – for WBC interim heavyweight title
- Rey Vargas (125) vs. Nick Ball (126) – for WBC featherweight title
- Israil Madrimov (153.6) vs. Magomed Kurbanov (153.6) – for vacant WBA super-welterweight title
- Mark Chamberlain (134.6) vs. Gavin Gwynne (134.6)
- Jack McGann (153.4) vs. Louis Greene (153.2) – WBC silver super-welterweight title eliminator
- Justis Huni (243.2) vs. Kevin Lerena (232.5)
- Roman Fury (224) vs. Martin Svarc (225)
- Ziyad Almaayouf (144.4) vs. Christian Lopes Flores (142)
- Andrii Novytskyi (239.4) vs. Juan Torres (255.6)
