Anthony Joshua breaks silence following Francis Ngannou fight announcement with hilarious GTA San Andreas reference

Anthony Joshua has broken his silence following the announcement of his bout against Francis Ngannou.

Last night, Eddie Hearn dropped the bombshell that Joshua would be returning to the ring once again and face the former UFC heavyweight champ. Their clash will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and marks Ngannou's second ever professional boxing bout.

Hearn also confirmed there would be a London press conference on Jan. 15, where details about the fight, such as the stakes and the amount of rounds would be revealed.

Following Hearn's announcement, Joshua took to X (formerly Twitter) to provide his response. The British boxer used a hilarious reference to the Grand Theft Auto San Andreas meme and provided a date for the bout. He tweeted:

"Ahh sh*t, here we go again.. 8/3/24"

Check out Anthony Joshua's tweet here:

'AJ' was originally expected to face Deontay Wilder next, but 'The Bronze Bomber's defeat to Joseph Parker at the 'Day of Reckoning' pay-per-view all but ended the hopes of their clash.

Now, Joshua will face the newcomer Ngannou, who entered the WBC's top 10 rankings in the division for his impressive debut performance against Tyson Fury last year. Although 'The Predator' came up short, he proved he could hold his own against the best and will have the opportunity to do so once again.

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Ariel Helwani reacts to Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou announcement

Ariel Helwani recently provided his initial thoughts to the news that Francis Ngannou's second ever professional boxing bout would be against Anthony Joshua.

The news has come as a suprise to fans, as many expected Ngannou would be returning to MMA and competing in PFL for the first time. The Cameroonian fighter signed a record breaking deal with the promotion in May 2023, with a contract that allows him to seek boxing opportunites as well as compete in MMA.

Speaking in a live stream on his YouTube channel and reacting to the news, Helwani couldn't contain excitement about the prospect of watching Ngannou enter a boxing ring once again. He said:

"As someone who has been closely following the Francis story, this to me is theatre. ... If Francis Ngannou could pull this off [defeating Joshua], does he now slot in there and replace Oleksandr Usyk?. ...

"I think a lot of people were waiting to see what Ngannou would do. Would he zig? Would he zag? He waited to see how the Day of Reckoning' played out for him."

Catch Helwani's comments here (7:30):