Anthony Joshua's next fight against Francis Ngannou has failed to get fans excited with some branding the exhibition a "waste of time".
Joshua is desperate to win back the heavyweight belts he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
Those two defeats to the Ukrainian heavyweight saw Joshua drop down the rankings, forcing him to rebuild his reputation.
He's since helped his case with three consecutive wins in 2023 over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.
Anthony Joshua will face Francis Ngannou next
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Joshua's last fight against Wallin led to some expectations of a potential title fight on the cards in 2024 for the two-time heavyweight champion.
The 34-year-old is being made to wait to see the outcome of Tyson Fury's unification bout with Usyk, with the duo signing a two-fight deal.
Joshua wants to continue his momentum by fighting again in March and with both Fury and Usyk currently unavailable, the Brit has turned his attention to Ngannou.
Eddie Hearn took to social media to confirm an agreement had been made between the two.
He wrote: "Tonight we confirm it’s a Done Deal! @anthonyjoshua v @francis_ngannou collide on a huge night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - press conference Jan 15 in London with full details dropping soon!"
But the announcement has failed to impress some boxing fans, who feel the exhibition bout is a "waste of time".
One person moaned on X: "And that, as if we didn't need anymore confirmation, is the end of world heavyweight boxing. What a waste of time."
Another posted: "Wow. Is boxing really that bad? We can't even line up proper boxing fights? Like everything, greed always wins."
A third said: "Bad bad fight for aj. Lose lose."
A fourth wrote: "Another joke fight. This is purely only about money. @EddieHearn @anthonyjoshua It makes absolutely zero sense in terms of rankings etc."Another complained: "Joke fight. Sick of these exhibitions."
Francis Ngannou knocked down Tyson Fury in their first last year
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Ngannou gained widespread praise for his performance against Fury at the end of last year after putting the 'Gypsy King' on the canvas.
He was added to the WBC rankings after his controversial loss to Fury and instantly called out Joshua, challenging him to a fight inside the octagon.
He said last year: "Anything that he wants. Ring or octagon. The good thing is I'm the one that can go everywhere comfortably.
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Anthony Joshua wants to regain his heavyweight belts
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"My comfort zone will be the octagon, but I'm going to the ring and putting them in a bad spot in the ring.
"I have my territory [in MMA] where they cannot mess with me. If they come, they will need something like some favour, like, 'I'll give you this, we'll take kicks out.' I have to give him something, but when we step in the ring, they don't give me anything and I still get them in trouble.
"Even Tyson Fury said the same thing and Tyson Fury is better than Anthony Joshua. What do I care about what people say?
"I've been in this game for so long. I've seen so much. I've heard so much what people intend to do. There's a difference between wanting to do and be able to do."
