Francis Ngannou aspires to fight for the first time in the ring as a professional very soon. Eddie Hearn, however, has made a harsh remark about Francis, claiming that the MMA fighter has no chance against any of the top 20 boxers at the moment.
“The Predator” is about to sign a contract with Deontay Wilder that would kickstart his professional boxing career. The former WBC champion and the former heavyweight champion of the UFC have both shown interest in facing off soon.
Jose Aldo feels Francis Ngannou "shot himself in the foot" by leaving the UFC for boxing. pic.twitter.com/E8bAqSK0Gx
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) April 1, 2023
What did Eddie Hearn specifically say about Francis Ngannou’s boxing skills?
Eddie Hearn participated in yesterday’s episode of The MMA Hour and was interviewed by Ariel Helwani about several current issues in combat sports.
While talking about Anthony Joshua’s performance against Jermaine Franklin, Ariel said at one point said, “Francis Ngannou can beat this guy”, indicating his dissatisfaction with the way AJ performed in his comeback fight. Even though Joshua won the fight by majority decision, The Briton’s performance was nowhere near his peak.
📝 @EddieHearn names three potential opponents that @anthonyjoshua could face this summer.
Who would you like to see ‘AJ’ face? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8txknmV9eH
— Boxing News+ (@BoxingNewsPlus) April 4, 2023
Eddie, who has been working as Joshua’s promoter for quite some time now, instantly disagreed with Ariel’s claim. According to the chairman of Matchroom Sport, not in a million years Francis with his boxing ability can beat Joshua. Even the British sports personality doesn’t see The Predator standing a chance against any top-ranked boxer at all.
“Not just with AJ, but with any top-twenty heavyweight in the world, but in that division, what the difference is, what you can do is you can knock someone out. So it doesn’t matter whether Francis fights Anthony Joshua, or Tyson Fury, and I agree with you.” Eddie said.
The French-Cameroonian MMA fighter has a few boxers as probable opponents on his mind. On his list of probable opponents include names like Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua, but Deontay Wilder currently seems like the most likely choice.
“Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora, Jermaine Franklin. He has no chance against those guys other than to be aggressive, trade up, and catch someone clean and take the out. I think you’re right in your statement that people would give Francis a much better chance against AJ having watched that performance in your world.” Eddie added.
Ariel tells Eddie Hearn that his biggest takeaway from Anthony Joshua’s performance this weekend was that…
“Francis Ngannou can beat this guy. This isn’t the craziest thought.”
Eddie Hearn responds…@arielhelwani / @EddieHearn #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/0drf0CMplv
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) April 3, 2023
Do you concur with Eddie Hearn that Anthony Joshua will defeat Francis Ngannou easily? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
