Pick It: Knockout Chaos: Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou and Zhilei Zhang-Joseph Parker

When to watch: Friday, March 8. The televised undercard begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

How to watch: Pay-per-view on DAZN ($39.99 for new subscribers, includes one free month of DAZN) or $69.99 on PPV.com

Why to watch: The biggest fights this week involve four of the largest men in boxing today. And the winners of this ongoing unofficial tournament could go on to face each other or perhaps fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship — a chance to be one of the biggest names in the sport.

For Anthony Joshua, statuesque at 6-foot-6 and an often muscular 250-ish pounds, that would mark a return to glory. He remains a British superstar, a huge draw in the United Kingdom, but that record of 27-3 (24 KOs) portrays a rise and fall, then another rise and another fall. He wants to ascend once again.

Joshua’s first title reign ended in a stunning TKO loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019. He regained his three world titles in the rematch, only to drop them once more in a clear decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021. Joshua also came up short in the Usyk sequel.

There have been three rebuilding wins since against third- or fourth-tier opponents. Every fight is a must-win situation for the 34-year-old from Watford. This next opponent in particular, Francis Ngannou, shouldn’t be taken lightly.

That was perhaps the mistake lineal heavyweight champ Tyson Fury made against Ngannou last October. Ngannou, 6-foot-4 and tipping the scales at more than 270 pounds, parted ways with the UFC while still its heavyweight champion and was making his debut as a pro boxer. But Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round, and the fight lasted much longer and was much closer than many expected. Fury escaped with the 10-round split decision.

Ngannou, a 37-year-old originally from Cameroon, is officially 0-1 but is potentially a very dangerous opponent for Joshua, who’s had times since the first Ruiz fight where he doesn’t look as confident or comfortable in the ring. 

There are a few potential outcomes for Ngannou, each interesting in their own way. He could beat Joshua and earn his third straight huge boxing payday — either against the Fury-Usyk winner or against Deontay Wilder. He could lose a competitive fight to Joshua and decide to remain in this sport, building a nest egg after years of earning less than he felt he deserved in the UFC. Or he could get blown out by Joshua and return fully to mixed martial arts with no more dabbling in boxing; a battle with PFL champion Renan Ferreira (huge himself at 6-foot-8) is already in the works.

Of course, Zheilei Zhang and Joseph Parker also want to be part of these conversations.

Zhang, 6-foot-6 and most recently in the ring at 287 pounds, has been a late bloomer. The 2008 Olympic silver medalist was dispatched early from the 2012 Games by Joshua, the eventual gold medalist. Zhang turned pro in 2014, already 31 years old, developing at a time that for others would be their prime. Zhang went on to suffer a pair of setbacks that seemed to show his limitations: an entertaining draw with Jerry Forrest in 2021 and a decision loss to undefeated contender Filip Hrgovic in 2022. Last year, however, Zhang saved his career with a pair of big wins, stopping the previously unstoppable Joe Joyce with a sixth-round TKO and a highlight-reel third-round KO. At 40 years old, Zhang has to know that his window is closing.

His opponent is Parker, a 32-year-old former heavyweight titleholder from New Zealand who’s made an unexpected return into contention.

Parker, 6-foot-4 and often fighting in the 240s or 250s, lost his title via unanimous decision in a unification bout against Joshua in 2018, then suffered another points defeat against Dillian Whyte four months later. Six straight victories brought Parker into a fight with Joyce. When Joyce put Parker away in Round 11, it seemed as if he might be consigned to the scrap heap.

That’s not what happened. Parker spent 2023 rebuilding, fighting four times and scoring a huge victory when he defused Deontay Wilder just two and a half months ago. Anyone who does that to Wilder, one of the biggest punchers ever in the sport, can’t yet be counted out — both figuratively and literally.

That’s not all for “Knockout Chaos.” It’s worth it to tune in early…

The rest of the undercard has some notable action, including a featherweight title fight featuring Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball and one more good heavyweight match, this one involving Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena.

Vargas is 36-1 (22 KOs). The 33-year-old is making the first defense of the featherweight title he won 20 months ago. Vargas made five defenses at 122 from 2017 to 2019 and then moved up to 126, coming off the canvas to unseat Mark Magsayo via majority decision in July 2022.

Vargas then jumped to 130 and attempted to win a vacant title against O’Shaquie Foster in February 2023, only to lose a unanimous decision. 

He returns against Ball, 27 years old, an undefeated contender at 19-0 (11 KOs). Ball is coming off a good run, notching five straight wins by way of knockout and then picking up his biggest accomplishment to date, a unanimous decision this past November over former former 122-pound titleholder Isaac Dogboe.

As for Huni vs. Lerena: 

Huni is a young heavyweight at 24, undefeated at 8-0 (4 KOs), and coming off a 10-round decision over former cruiserweight title challenger Andrew Tabiti. He’ll be facing another former cruiserweight contender in Lerena, a 31-year-old who’s made heavyweight his home the past few years. 

Lerena is 30-2 (14 KOs), one of those losses coming nine years ago, the most recent one occurring at the end of 2022 against Daniel Dubois. Lerena seemed on the verge of an upset when Dubois injured his right knee and went to the canvas three times in the opening round — twice on his own without any punches landing. But Dubois steadied himself and stopped Lerena at the end of the third. Since then, Lerena’s picked up a pair of decision wins last year, defeating Ryad Merhy and Senad Gashi.

More Fights to Watch

Thursday, March 7: Steven Butler vs. Steve Rolls (ESPN+, 7 p.m. Eastern Time)

This meeting of Canadian middleweights features Montreal’s Butler fighting in front of his hometown crowd against Toronto’s Rolls. Their fight isn’t just about bragging rights between Quebec and Ontario, but about trying to remain relevant. The winner will be in position for another opportunity, likely as the B-side to a contender or rising prospect. The loser will have some serious thinking to do.

Each has come up short when stepping up. 

Butler, 28, is 33-4-1 (27 KOs). He suffered back-to-back defeats, stopped by Ryota Murata in five rounds at the end of 2019 and then suffering the same fate in early 2021 in a surprising TKO5 loss to a 27-10-3 fighter named Jose de Jesus Macias. Butler bounced back with four wins and landed a title fight in May 2023 against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, only to be bounced off the canvas three times in a second-round stoppage loss. Butler returned in November, dispatching a foe named Ivan Alvarez in nine.

Rolls is 39, and that number alone often indicates a fighter may be approaching the tail-end of his career. There are other numbers that suggest the same: He is 22-3 (12 KOs), and those three losses all came in his past six fights. The first came against Gennady Golovkin (KO4) in 2019. Two wins brought Rolls into a match against Edgar Berlanga in 2022; Berlanga won a decision. Rolls returned with a victory and then suffered a decision defeat to Austin “Ammo” Williams last September.

Additional Shows For You Boxing Addicts

Thursday, March 7: Ariel Lopez vs. Gregorio Lebron (BoxingInsider.com, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time)

This show, airing for free from a cozy concert venue in Manhattan, is topped by a featherweight clash between Lopez and Lebron.

Lopez, 20-1-1 (11 KOs), is a 27-year-old who lives one borough over in Brooklyn. He’s won four in a row following that lone loss, which came at bantamweight in 2021 against Jose Velasquez. (Velasquez went on to unsuccessfully challenge then-unified 122-pound titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev.) Lopez’s last appearance was in October, when he returned from a 17-month layoff and shut out professional opponent Ernesto Guerrero.

Lebron, a 24-6 (18 KOs) fighter from the Dominican Republic, comes in facing disadvantages in age and size. He is 41 and has spent the bulk of his career between the flyweight and bantamweight divisions. The most notable name on his record: a fifth-round TKO loss in a flyweight title fight against Artem Dalakian back at the end of 2018. Lebron went on to add three straight wins in 2019 and 2020, then spent nearly three years out of the ring before coming back this past September, getting stopped in three by Josue Morales.

Friday, March 8: Azael Villar vs. Jairo Noriega (ESPN+, 9 p.m. Eastern Time)

This show, streamed from Managua, Nicaragua, is headlined by a junior flyweight fight between Villar and Noriega that could put the winner closer to a potential title shot. 

Villar, a 29-year-old from Panama, is 20-2-4 (15 KOs). He dropped down to the 108-pound weight class after suffering a seventh-round TKO loss to flyweight Ayumu Hanada in Japan at the start of 2023. Since then, he fought to a draw with Gerardo Zapata last August and then scored a good win over a unanimous decision over Ricardo Astuvilca in December.

In front of him is Noriega, an undefeated 31-year-old with a record of 13-0 (3 KOs). Noriega will be fighting outside of his home country of Spain for the first time and also, on paper, seems to be stepping up his level of competition. Only five of Noriega’s professional fights have come against foes with winning records. And he’s also dealt with inactivity of late, getting in the ring once in 2022 and once in 2023, outpointing former title challenger Angel Moreno and designed opponent Gerson Larios.

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.