John Fury has sent a stern warning to Anthony Joshua ahead of his fight with Francis Ngannou.

Former heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medalist Joshua will take on ex-UFC champion Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 8 March.

The fight against AJ will be Ngannou’s second boxing match, having lost to Tyson Fury via a split decision on his debut.

Meanwhile, Joshua looked more like his old self when he dispatched Otto Wallin towards the back end of 2023.

Ahead of the bout, Fury senior has sent a stern warning to Joshua.

Speaking to LowKick MMA, via Free Bets, Fury said: “Ngannou is a big strong fella. He’s muscly, but he can also move. He’s athletic and if you’re there, he’ll take the top of your head straight off.

“And don’t forget he’s a lot more powerful a man than Andy Ruiz Jr. When he gets you in trouble, you’ll know about it and he won’t just do that with A.J. He’ll do it to anybody out there.”

During the press conference, Ngannou questioned Joshua’s chin.

He said: “I heard he doesn’t have a chin. I don’t know if it’s true or not. I hope I have the opportunity to test it out, that’s my wish.

“I’m the underground king. I might not be the champion in boxing, but I’m a life champion. I’m pretty good at finding my way to do my thing.”

Joshua said: “His mind I have to conquer. You have to take someone’s soul, you have to take someone’s spirit. I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“He gave Fury an unbelievable fight. I thought ‘hang on a minute here’. The fight was not something I was looking at straight away, but that’s someone who is going to cause a bit of chaos in the heavyweight division.”