Eddie Hearn has declared Anthony Joshua is open to the possibility of a boxing fight with Francis Ngannou.
Joshua is set to return to the ring in a comeback fight this weekend against Jermaine Franklin at London's O2 Arena - his first bout since losing his Saudi Arabia rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. 'AJ' needs a big win to regain momentum in his heavyweight career having lost his two outings against Usyk, which resulted in him being dethroned from being champion for the second time.
Several potential big fights could open up for later in the year if Joshua is to progress beyond Franklin which could include contests with rivals in the division including Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. However, in a different style of outing, Joshua could be thrust into a potential showdown with ex-UFC champion Ngannou, who is a free agent after leaving the promotion.
The Briton's promoter, Hearn, has already travelled to hold talks with Ngannou over a potential future in the squared circle, mentioning a fight with his stable's biggest star. But in a fresh update, Hearn has suggested that the Cameroon star is highly interested in a showdown if it can be arranged.
"There has been no movement on that fight not really," Hearn said in an exclusive chat with Mirror Fighting at Wednesday's Joshua versus Franklin press conference. "I went to Vegas to meet Francis Ngannou and wow, what an unbelievable story, it was one of the most unbelievable meetings I have ever had. Two hours of listening to what has happened in his life and wow, it is unbelievable.
"He wants to fight AJ, Wilder or Fury and he wants the biggest out there. I don't think it is a fight on AJ's mind, but I feel like if I presented it to him, I see no reason why he would not be up for that fight."
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Ngannou is likely to receive a multitude of offers, including a resumption of his MMA career on a different promotion, such as PFL. It is understood the front runner to face the ex-champion is Wilder, who has yet to confirm his own next fight after beating Robert Helenius last year.
'The Predator' confirmed talks with Wilder and Joshua's teams but it has yet to be decided what his next move will be. He told ESPN : "My next step has to be boxing. I want to do one boxing match first and then maybe go back to MMA because I still enjoy MMA. I want to do a couple of fights in boxing.
"We are working on some stuff and hopefully in a month or two, I will be able to come out with an announcement on potential fight dates and locations. It’s taking a little longer than I expected but it’s coming along. Big things come with time. I talked to Eddie Hearn about Anthony Joshua, I don’t know what’s going to happen."
