Hearn Worried Joshua Could Lose To Ngannou
Eddie Hearn has revealed that he fears Anthony Joshua coming out second best against Francis Ngannou.
Joshua is coming off a win after stopping Otto Wallin. The consensus was that Joshua had turned the corner after teaming up with Ben Davidson. Joshua looked more composed as he stepped behind his jab and landed numerous right hands down the pipe. He was meant to fight Deontay Wilder after both fighters signed a two-fight deal.
However, the Bronze Bomber came unstuck as he lost to Joseph Parker. Joshua was linked with Filip Hrgovic and Zhilei Zhang. The decision was made to face Ngannou, which pressured Joshua.
The former UFC heavyweight champion showed what he could do when he boxed Tyson Fury.
He dropped the WBC heavyweight champion in the third round on his debut. Ngannou continued to come forward and take shots on the chin as he made it to the final bell. Despite losing a split decision, some in the boxing community felt he had done enough to win. That is why Joshua must guard against complacency.
Hearn On Joshua
“AJ takes this seriously. He knows how strong Ngannou is. He knows he can punch. The biggest asset that Ngannou has is mental. He has no fear of Joshua. He’ll [Ngannou] walk him down and throw with him. Listen, I believe he’ll [Joshua] stop him, and I believe he wins comfortably. I’m also quite scared. You want jeopardy, right?” Hearn said
Should Joshua come out victorious, the focus will be Hrgovic. The winner of Fury vs Usyk must face Hrgovic since he is the current IBF interim champion. If they refuse to do so, then they will be stripped. This is possible due to their rematch clause, leaving Joshua with a potential shot at the title.
But one defeat can throw Joshua’s career into doubt once again. Wilder’s loss to Parker has seen him all but written off from the big fights, with talks that the Bronze Bomber could retire from the sport. But there is an argument that Ngannou caught Fury on a bad day, raising question marks over how good he will be against AJ.
Hearn On Ngannou
“A guy that has never had a professional fight fighting the best heavyweight in the world in his debut. It should have been a complete mismatch, but Ngannou somehow produced a wonderful performance. Fury was poor, and he should have, could have, or nearly lost. He got dropped. He looked petrified. So, now the fight [Joshua vs. Ngannou] becomes credible,” Hearn added
But Ngannou’s top-ten ranking in the WBC shows he is now considered a threat in the heavyweight division. After just one fight, that is a lot of expectation to place on an MMA fighter. However, Ngannou has shown that he made the right decision in leaving the UFC to secure the highest payday of his career to box Fury. At the very least, the Joshua fight provides another opportunity to do that.
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