Eddie Hearn expects Anthony Joshua to show Francis Ngannou that there are levels to boxing.
Ngannou (0-1) meets Joshua (27-3) in a heavyweight match March 8 in Saudi Arabia. Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, admits he heavily underestimated Ngannou when he fought WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October. But despite Ngannou knocking Fury down in a close decision loss, Hearn still backs his fighter to get the finish.
“Everyone’s going to play my previous clips that Francis Ngannou couldn’t win an English title before he fought Tyson Fury,” Hearn said on “The MMA Hour.” “I feel like he’s earned that shot or certainly to continue at that level. And I fancy the fight.
“You’ve heard me say before, I really believe AJ knocks him out. But he’s a dangerous fight. I know that this guy’s a big, big lump that can really punch, and I think he has no fear, which makes him dangerous. But I just feel like AJ is in a great place, and I expect him to pick him apart and knock him out.”
Hearn knows the risk of Joshua facing an inexperienced opponent like Ngannou, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a worthy one.
“You can’t really say that he’s not a credible opponent,” Hearn said. “I’ve heard Carl Froch and others say, ‘Oh, this is just a cash grab.’ No, this is a dangerous fight. Like, AJ actually has a lot to lose here. Coming off the (Otto) Wallin fight, he’s in a wonderful position to go and fight for the IBF world title, which we hope will happen after the Francis Ngannou fight.
“But it’s kind of like, there’s a lot of jeopardy in this fight … a lot of jeopardy. If you lose to Francis Ngannou – Francis Ngannou is 0-1, right? So it’s not a great look losing to Francis Ngannou. So he’s going to do everything he can to avoid that.”
Despite Joshua opening up as a -700 favorite, Hearn promises that he’s not underestimating the former UFC heavyweight champion.
“They’re taking this very seriously,” Hearn said. “In their mind, this is the toughest fight of their career. Francis Ngannou is a very dangerous man and they’ll be training, absolutely, with every ounce in their soul to be victorious.”
For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.
