BOXING fans were left furious at the delay in Anthony Joshua’s return to the ring against Francis Ngannou.
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion AJ was scheduled to clash with the former UFC titleholder late Friday night in Saudi Arabia.
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Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou were due to fight at 23:20 BST timeCredit: Getty
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But the main event between Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang didn’t even start until 11pm Credit: Reuters
The eagerly awaited crossover clash was set to kick off at 11.20pm BST (2.20am local time).
But the co-main event between Zhilei Zhang and former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker didn’t even start until 11 p.m.
And fight fans around the world were far from happy with the postponement of proceedings, with one saying: “The running time on this card is taking the p**s, hurry up!”
Another said: “[The] the amount of time between fights here is a joke.”
And another said: “The birds will be chirping when Joshua and Ngannou are in the ring.”
One noted: “Joshua vs. Ngannou won’t be in the ring until at least 3am local time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”
“Wild. It’s hard for fans to keep up the energy and excitement when you’re there for 8+ hours and it’s that late.”
Another chimed in: “The main event won’t even be in primetime in any of the key boxing markets in the UK and US.
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ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF THE BIG CROSSOVER FIGHT
“And it’s not even prime time in Saudi Arabia. What’s the point?”
One fight fan asked: “So who’s in charge of timing in Saudi Arabia?”
Inside the dramatic transformation of the stadium as the arena looks unrecognizable for the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou mega fight
An MMA fan who tuned in to see if Ngannou could shock the world again raged: “The UFC is elite when it comes to fight card flow.
“Because I spend more time waiting for this fight than working a 9-5.”
Another labeled the event a “freaking fight.”
However, it was worth the wait.
Joshua, 34, followed up his wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin by destroying Ngannou in two rounds.
Ngannou, meanwhile, was unable to repeat the impressive split decision loss he suffered at the hands of Tyson Fury last October as AJ completely dominated.
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Anthony Joshua has won his last three fights on the bounceCredit: Getty
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Source: HIS Education