Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has expressed interest in booking a fight between Joshua and Francis Ngannou, but claims that his outreach to Ngannou’s team went unanswered, leading him to believe that a Fury-Ngannou fight has likely already been agreed upon.
Anthony Joshua’s promoter has been busy. He’s been fielding a lot of interest in a potential match-up between Joshua and Francis Ngannou. This comes after Ngannou, the ex-UFC heavyweight champ, nearly beat Tyson Fury in his first professional boxing match.
But Eddie Hearn, the head of Matchroom Sport, says that interest hasn’t been reciprocated. He reached out to Ngannou’s team about a potential fight with Joshua. But he never heard back.
Hearn shared this on The MMA Hour. He suspects that a Fury-Ngannou rematch is already in the works, following Fury’s upcoming bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Ngannou, he reckons, feels he can beat Fury after their first fight. But there’s no point in him boxing non-stars. He could lose to anyone in the top 50 heavyweights. So, it’s time to cash in.
Hearn thinks Ngannou will likely fight in the PFL or somewhere similar in spring or summer 2024. Then he’ll take on Tyson Fury at the end of the year.
Hearn added that everyone knows Fury-Usyk is a two-fight deal. He thinks there’s probably a rematch with Ngannou in the pipeline too.
Ngannou, who’s 37, nearly caused a major upset in combat sports history last October. He fought Fury to a controversial split decision. Despite being a big betting underdog, Ngannou pushed Fury to his limits. He even knocked down the lineal heavyweight champion.
This performance exceeded many people’s expectations. It had boxing veterans like Hearn and Carl Frampton singing his praises. Hearn even publicly pushed for a Joshua vs. Ngannou fight next. He thought it could be one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport.
But the fight never happened. Joshua signed to face Otto Wallin on the Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 23. This event also features Deontay Wilder, another potential opponent for Ngannou, in a co-headlining bout against Joseph Parker.
If Joshua and Wilder both win, Hearn hopes the long-awaited clash between Joshua and Wilder could be next.
Ngannou’s next move is uncertain. But Fury is set to face WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk in a title unification bout on Feb. 17.
Fury’s reputation took a hit after his lackluster showing against Ngannou. But Hearn still thinks Fury will handle Usyk.
Hearn thought Fury was a strong favorite pre-Ngannou. But now, he’s not sure where Fury is physically. He’s lucky Usyk’s not a puncher and is a much smaller man.
Hearn thinks Fury will win the fight. But he can’t rule out Usyk. We just don’t know where Fury is physically or mentally after his fight with Ngannou. He didn’t look himself in that fight. Maybe he was just ill-prepared.