Dan Hardy: “Anthony Joshua’s probably one of the better matchups for Francis Ngannou”

Former UFC fighter and current head of fighter operations for PFL Europe Dan Hardy believes Francis Ngannou has the edge over Anthony Joshua in a potential boxing match.

Ngannou has made waves in boxing world after nearly defeating WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a 10-round match. Ngannou lost the bout via split decision. In the aftermath of the fight, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has shared interest in booking a boxing match with Ngannou.

RELATED: FRANK WARREN SAYS THERE’S A “GOOD CHANCE” TYSON FURY VS. FRANCIS NGANNOU 2 GOES DOWN IN 2024

Dan Hardy On Possible Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou Boxing Match

During an appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Dan Hardy shared his belief that Francis Ngannou could be bad news for Anthony Joshua due to how he reacts to getting hit.

“Tyson Fury stylistically is probably the most difficult for Ngannou to deal with,” Hardy explained on The MMA Hour. “He’s tall, he’s got great upper body movement, great defense. Then you look at somebody like Anthony Joshua or a Joe Joyce, they’re a little more upright, they don’t necessarily take a punch quite as well. They definitely don’t regroup as well as Tyson Fury does.”

Hardy went on to say that he’s unsure if Joshua would be able to weather the storm.

“I think honestly Anthony Joshua’s probably one of the better matchups for Ngannou out of all the heavyweights,” Hardy said. “I like the Joe Joyce idea because he boxes with a — I don’t mean amateurish — I mean an amateur technical style where he places his shots but his head’s very much on the center line. He doesn’t move it a lot.

“The thing is with Anthony Joshua, I don’t know if he can regroup if he hits the canvas, especially against an 0-1 boxer that’s still early in his career. I feel like it would unravel much quicker.”