Francis Ngannou opens as a sizable betting underdog against Anthony Joshua

According to opening betting odds, former UFC champ Francis Ngannou is a long shot at beating Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring.

Even though he was impressive in his professional boxing debut, Francis Ngannou is once again a big underdog at the betting window.

Ngannou (0-1) is set to face Anthony Joshua in a marquee heavyweight boxing match on March 8 in Saudi Arabia. It will be just the second professional boxing bout for Ngannou, following a competitive debut against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October.

According to FanDuel, Ngannou is a +500 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on the former UFC heavyweight champ would win $500. Joshua (27-3) is perhaps unsurprisingly a massive favorite in the contest. The former boxing champion opens as a -700 favorite, meaning a $700 wager would be needed to return a $100 profit. For the bettors who embrace chaos and drama, a draw result is +2000, meaning a $100 bet would win $2,000.

In his first boxing bout, Ngannou was a +600 underdog to Fury. Ngannou gave bettors who wagered on Fury at -1,000 a solid scare when he scored a knockdown in the third round, which was also the biggest single moment of their 10-round fight. Ngannou even entered the final round as a live betting favorite.

Joshua was also a clear favorite in his previous outing against Otto Wallin. The U.K.’s heavyweight won a decision as a -380 favorite, turning away Wallin, who came in as a +285 underdog.