01 November 2023 , 09:08
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Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn has started talks with Francis Ngannou over a potential fight against Anthony Joshua.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou lost his boxing debut to Tyson Fury last weekend in Saudi Arabia, but he exceeded expectations by taking the Brit to a controversial split decision. Ngannou landed more power punches than Fury over 10 rounds and scored the only knockdown of the fight, losing by just one point on the scorecards.
Hearn admitted that he hasn't spoken with Joshua much about fighting Ngannou yet, with 'AJ' previously dismissing the potential crossover as a "gimmick fight". The promoter has likened the fight to George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali as he is calling it Rumble in the Jungle part two.
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"I've just told them, 'We would be willing to make that fight and it's massive,' so it's up to them," Hearn told iFL TV. " Can you imagine them two next to each other? Two absolute massive heavyweights, I’m talking Rumble in the Jungle part two in Africa. [Joshua] beats him comfortably and two, it’s massive. I think AJ against Ngannou is a bigger fight than Fury against Usyk.
Eddie Hearn opens talks for Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou heavyweight fight
“I’m not putting all of my eggs in one basket and saying ‘We must fight Francis Nganno’ but if that fight came for ‘AJ’ now my advice to Joshua would be to take that fight. It’s one of the biggest fights if not the biggest fight in the whole of boxing. Some people think AJ against Ngannou is a 50-50 fight, sign me up.
“We had a chat, it was more about trying to get some direction on December and January. He wants to win the world heavyweight championship, that is the most important thing to him. We’re looking at the IBF situation, he likes the Wilder fight and hasn’t called me about Ngannou."
Ngannou is now hoping to fight again in the first quarter of next year as he looks to make his PFL debut after signing with the MMA promotion earlier this year. Joshua was expected to have one more fight before the end of the year after knocking out Robert Helenius in August, but Hearn expects his man to now fight in January instead.