Eddie Hearn bets on big win by Joshua over Ngannou leading to mega-bout with Fury
The official announcement of former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former UFC star Francis Ngannou took place on Monday in London. The two combatants met ahead of their fight at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.
Joshua’s long-time promoter, Eddie Hearn, of Matchroom Sports, welcomes their showdown, which will headline a showpiece event in the Middle East.
“Those two giants come head-to-head, a very exciting fight,” Hearn told The Ring. “One I’m very confident in, but then I was confident in Callum Smith [beating Artur Beterbiev.] I think it’s a dangerous fight, good jeopardy in the fight.
“They can all punch, you can get hit by any heavyweight and get dropped or hurt. Ngannou’s thing is he’s very powerful and very strong. You saw that against [WBC titlist Tyson] Fury, so you’ve got to be switched on.
“There’s not a huge amount for AJ to gain from the fight other than doing a job on him and do what Fury couldn’t do and beat him well.”
The Matchroom boss remains skeptical as to whether a fighter from another combat sport can just appear in boxing and enjoy success at the highest levels.
“I’m still not subscribed to the belief you can just enter boxing and beat the elite guys, the heavyweight division is different,” he said. “I stand by no MMA fighter below heavyweight could turn pro and start beating Terence Crawford, [Jesse] Bam [Rodriguez] etc. but if you can punch and you’re strong you’ve always got a chance, that’s why the heavyweight division is so exciting.
“AJ is definitely switched on for this fight, he knows the threat, he’s not like he’s going, ‘I’ve got a payday here.’ this is a serious fight.”
The working plan appears for the winner of undisputed heavyweight championship between Fury-[Oleksandr] Usyk on February 17 and the Joshua-Ngannou victor to meet later in the year.
“If [Joshua] knocks out Ngannou or beats him well and Fury beats Usyk you’ve got the whole world clambering for that fight,” he said. “It’s the biggest fight of all time, arguably. Worldwide it’s massive and I believe Saudi Arabia will look at the fight when it’s there to be made and say, ‘We’ve got to do it.'”
If the Battle of Britain were to be consummated, the natural venue for that fight would appear be the home of English sports, Wembley Stadium, which could accommodate 100,000 people.
However, to that end, that’s not how Hearn see’s things.
“Yeah, but it might not get made,” he said. “Tyson Fury would want a certain amount of money for that fight, I would make sure that AJ was well rewarded for that fight.
“I don’t like or subscribe to, ‘Oh we’re taking boxing away from England and America.’ So what? You think boxing’s not allowed to go anywhere else, ‘You can’t go over there because the fans aren’t as loud?’ What about if we make the fans loud? What about if we educate them and actually allow longevity for the sport and let more money come into the eco system?”
While some have been critical of things in Saudi Arabia, Hearn is quick to point to the positive aspect of things.
“More importantly the fights are getting made,” said Hearn. “We had Fury-Ngannou, which ended up being an interesting fight, The Day of Reckoning card, which was unbelievable, Fury-Usyk, AJ-Ngannou, Bivol-Beterbiev, probably. Plus all these undercards, at least we’re seeing them.”
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk.
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