Eddie Hearn wants to see Joshua vs. Ngannou: “Absolutely massive”

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said he liked what he saw from former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou Saturday night in a losing effort to Tyson Fury.

Although Ngannou did not possess prior boxing experience before facing the WBC heavyweight champion, Hearn said Ngannou’s fights would generate more and more attention moving forward.

One judge awarded the fight to Ngannou before the final decision was read. A near-knockout in Round 3 nearly made the upset a reality.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on the latest edition of “The MMA Hour,” Hearn teased the idea of Ngannou taking on Anthony Joshua, a pound-for-pound top-three heavyweight.

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“I think Francis Ngannou now sits there with plenty of opportunities [even with a loss],” Eddie Hearn said Monday. “I still believe… I saw some comments online about people saying, ‘Oh, you know, Ngannou should come back with a follow-up fight with a lower-level opponent.’ “Bad idea. Really, really bad idea. Because there is a chance that he got lucky on Saturday night.”

Eddie Hearn added there’s a real possibility of a Joshua fight materializing.

”AJ against Ngannou is absolutely massive,” Hearn said. “Massive. Two giants next to each other, and you know, who know’s what’s gonna happen.”

Ngannou isn’t the first MMA fighter to try his hand at boxing the best in the world. Most notably, Conor McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather in Aug. 2017 in what was built as “The Money Fight.” As expected, Mayweather won, but it ushered in a new era of boxing, which was continued by Jake Paul, among others.

At press time, despite fighting Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Fury is expected to unify his heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia.

The loss to Fury was Ngannou’s first combat sports blemish since losing to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220, which was then avenged at UFC 260 in 2021.

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