Joshua had been provisionally scheduled to face Deontay Wilder following his win over Otto Wallin on December 23.

However, that deal broke down after Wilder lost to Joseph Parker, with the judges scoring the bout 118-111, 120-108, 120-108 in the Kiwi’s favour.

Ngannou (right) will go into the fight on the back of a points defeat to Tyson Fury in 2023

Joshua had been due to fight Deontay Wilder in March, but the American’s loss to Joseph Parker meant the deal broke down

The proposed date for the Joshua vs Wilder bout was March 9, with both parties signing on the dotted line ahead of their respective bouts in December.

Therefore, many believe the bout between AJ and Ngannou will replace the proposed fight between the British heavyweight and Wilder.

AJ stated his interest in fighting Ngannou after the former UFC star broke into the WBC’s top 10 heavyweight rankings after his first professional boxing match.

No one gave Ngannou anything other than a puncher’s chance on his boxing debut against Tyson Fury last October.

However, Ngannou proved his worth against the Gypsy King – knocking the WBC champion to the canvas in the third round before ultimately losing on a split decision.

Many punters felt Ngannou did enough across the 10 round contest to win the fight and said that the Cameroonian had been ‘robbed’ to protect Fury’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

Ngannou almost caused a huge upset against Fury, knocking his opponent to the ground in the third round

Joshua, meanwhile, eased his way to victory against Otto Wallin in his last fight in December

However, the majority of boxing experts agreed that Fury was the rightful winner on the night – just edging past the Cameroonian after a disappointing performance from the Gypsy King.

Nevertheless, Ngannou walked away from the bout with a massive amount of credit and established himself as a worthwhile contender in the heavyweight division.

Meanwhile, Joshua continued his quest to return to the top of the heavyweight division by beating Otto Wallin on the Day of Reckoning.

Joshua put on a boxing masterclass, forcing Wallin’s corner to step in and call off the fight after five rounds.