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Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has quickly drawn interest from various promotions after becoming a free agent. The most recent has been Matchroom Boxing Promotor Eddie Hearn who wants to see Ngannou box Anthony Joshua. Hearn expressed his interest in the matchup on the “MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani.
“We would love to be involved in (Ngannou’s) career,” Hearn said. “The Anthony Joshua fight is just probably one of the biggest fights that could be made across any kind of sport. Obviously, the Tyson Fury fight is there for him as well.”
Quote via TheScore
Ngannou has expressed interest in heading to the boxing ring on various occasions. Now that he is a free agent, that dream can become a reality.
At this point, Hearn will not be the only promoter looking to get into business with Ngannou. There have been reports that Tyson Fury is interested in the bout as well. Although, since Hearn is Joshua’s promoter, he is understandably calling for Ngannous vs. Joshua.
Hearn also recognized the fact that Ngannou needs to be thrown into a massive fight right away which makes sense. Ngannou’s stock is pretty high since he left the UFC as a sitting world champion. His next fight will be a massive one, regardless of his opponent.
“If I’m representing Francis Ngannou, I want to make sure that this next move, I maximize every dollar that’s out there,” Hearn said. “He’s done the hard work. He’s done the years of hustle. He’s done the work to get himself in a position that he can move forward with what he wants to do (and) take control of his career.”
“I would like to see him go straight into a big fight, where he can make an absolute fortune, and then if he were to lose, to come back and actually have some fights in boxing.”
Quote via TheScore
The promotion for a potential bout between Ngannou and Joshua is not hard to figure out. It’s simple: what happens when a UFC champion fights a former boxing champion? The same script was used for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather. Looks like Hearn is going to recycle that strategy if this fight comes to fruition.
“What happens when two titans from the world of fight sports collide?” Hearn asked. “The UFC heavyweight world champion, Francis Ngannou, and a two-time world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua. The complete unknown, the unknown of how good is Francis Ngannou? We know he punches extremely hard. If he lands one on Anthony Joshua, is it the greatest upset of all time, or will AJ completely steamroll him, and you’ll see Francis Ngannou get knocked out?
“That’s the attraction of that fight: The unknown.”
Quote via TheScore
At this point, it is pretty obvious that Ngannou’s next bout will be in boxing. It is a clear pathway for him to make a bunch of cash while testing his luck in his dream sport. The bigger question is: who will he fight? Hearn says it should be Joshua. Others will say, Fury or Deontay Wilder. Maybe some people toss Oleksandr Usyk’s name into the mix. It all comes down to preference.
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