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Francis Ngannou tipped to fail in boxing venture: ‘He cannot go in and compete technically’

PFL on signing UFC veteran Francis Ngannou It's all positive Eddie Hearn says he’d love to work with Francis Ngannou and arrange some boxing matches but doesn’t believe his skills would translate very well against boxing’s heavyweight elite. Famed boxing promoter Hearn has been around forever in the sport and has nurtured Anthony Joshua’s career as a promoter since 2013 when the famed UK boxer […]

Eddie Hearn says he’d love to work with Francis Ngannou and arrange some boxing matches but doesn’t believe his skills would translate very well against boxing’s heavyweight elite.

Famed boxing promoter Hearn has been around forever in the sport and has nurtured Anthony Joshua’s career as a promoter since 2013 when the famed UK boxer Joshua first made his transition over from Olympic boxing.

Hearn believes he could do exciting things with Ngannou in the sport, and a match between ‘The Predator’ and ‘AJ’ could be thrilling and give Ngannou that big-money boxing fight he’s been wanting so badly.

Ngannou has made waves as perhaps the biggest MMA free agent in history. He refused to re-sign with the UFC, forfeited his heavyweight title, and has since been searching for bigger and better opportunities. He’s got his eye set on either the PFL or ONE FC when it comes to MMA, but before he signs, Francis Ngannou still desperately wants to compete in boxing against the current greats of the sport.

Eddie Hearn is doubtful that Francis Ngannou’s skills would translate well into boxing

“Personally, you cannot in a million years, with Francis Ngannou’s ability in boxing and pedigree in boxing, go in and compete technically, skill-wise — not just with AJ, but with any top-20 heavyweight in the world,” Hearn began, speaking on The MMA Hour. “But in that division, the difference is, what you can do is you could knock someone out. So it doesn’t matter whether Francis fights Anthony Joshua — Tyson Fury, I agree with you, horrible fight for Francis Ngannou because he’d he just poke [Ngannou] around — 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 him out.”

“So I think that you are correct in your statement, in that … people would give fighters a much better chance against AJ having watched that performance. In your world, that translates to Francis Ngannou,” Hearn continued (H/T MMA Fighting). “And why not? I don’t feel like it’s a fight that’s going to continue the development of Anthony Joshua under his new trainer, but I’d [recently] done lunch with Francis Ngannou. You know his story. I was completely gobsmacked by the story of this man. We sat for two hours, and I was just listening to just the most remarkable — I mean, how this isn’t a film, I have no idea. Unbelievable.”

Eddie Hearn is eager to make money off of Francis Ngannou

It’s obvious Eddie Hearn would love to make millions off of Ngannou, and the boxing promoter even began to talk about turning his story into some Hollywood blockbuster.

“I’m thinking, ‘Please let me go to Hollywood now with you and sell this film.’ People need to be educated about what that man has been through and his story to get to where he’s got to. I found him fascinating. Lovely guy, lovely guy, and I’d love to do something.”

In Hearn’s defense, ‘The Predator’ does have one of the most remarkable stories in MMA. Commenting on it in this article wouldn’t nearly do it justice, so don’t be afraid to do some research and read up on it. Let’s just say Francis Ngannou is an incredible human. The things he’s gone through to get where he’s at today will stand the test of time. A movie should be made about his life, but that might not even do the story justice. It could even require a short series about it of hour-long episodes even to get close to telling it fairly. It wouldn’t be surprising if, a decade from now, he’s considered a beloved combat sports legend similar to Mike Tyson.

As far as boxing goes, Eddie Hearn is eager to get Ngannou in there with anybody and everybody. “Dillian Whyte. Otto Wallin. Joe Joyce is another big fight. It’s a tough fight, but who knows,” Hearn said. “But I just feel that if we’re going to go into a Fury or Wilder, which is inevitable, I just want him to go in with the best chance that he can have. And I just feel that, right now, he’s not at the optimum level he could be to go into that fight.”

“He (Anthony Joshua) would still go into them, and I still give him a chance in those fights. I believe he could win those fights. But I would just like to see him firing and going into those fights. And what I saw (against Franklin) wasn’t AJ firing on all cylinders.”

Who would you want to see Francis Ngannou box if it ever happens, or would you just prefer him to re-sign with the UFC?

Eddie Hearn coy on booking Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou fight, cautious of potential KO

Mega boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that he is not keen on organizing a matchup between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou. Hearn, who similarly to Dana White, is recognized as a brutally honest promoter, does not give Ngannou much of a chance against top boxers such as Joshua or anyone in the top 20. […]

Mega boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that he is not keen on organizing a matchup between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.

Hearn, who similarly to Dana White, is recognized as a brutally honest promoter, does not give Ngannou much of a chance against top boxers such as Joshua or anyone in the top 20.

Eddie Hearn talks Francis Ngannou.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/otW4UdTqRQ

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 3, 2023

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Hearn attempted to justify his stance against the potential matchup by comparing the technicality and boxing pedigree of Francis Ngannou to some of boxing’s elites.

“You can not in a million years with Francis Ngannou’s ability in boxing and pedigree in boxing go in and compete.”

Following a highly anticipated opportunity for a UFC title in Ngannou’s career, a prime Stipe Miocic briefly halted the Ngannou hype train with a humbling unanimous decision.

Following a consecutive loss to Derrick Lewis, Francis Ngannou discovered a new backbone in his persistence and went on to terrorize the heavyweight division until he was eventually crowned champion in 2021 following his redemption KO over Miocic.

Ngannou went on to defend his title once over an undefeated Ciryl Gane, which ended up being the last we’ll see of ‘The Predator’ in the UFC.

Francis Ngannou departed the UFC back in January of this year

The Cameroonian heavyweight could not agree on a new contract with the UFC which led to his release.

Ngannou was keen on being offered a significant pay rise which he deemed as a fair demand, and has since pursued a career in boxing where he is seeking a successful payday.

Although Hearn may not give him much of a chance, he recognizes that when it comes to heavyweights throwing gloves, power is inevitable.

“In that division, the difference is what you can do is knock someone out.”

Plenty of back and forth verbal interactions have occurred between Ngannou and boxers such as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, who have shown interest in welcoming Ngannou to the ring.

Hearn said he had a personal meeting with Ngannou where he learned the significance of his film-like upbringing and rise to where he is today, which gained his respect and admiration for his resilience.

“People need to be educated about what that man has been through and the story to get to where he’s got to.”

A return to MMA may be a possibility in the future, but what many fans are keen to watch is a boxing superfight where Ngannou’s sheer power will be on display against the best in the sport.

Anthony Joshua defeats Jermaine Franklin in decision victory, both corralled in tense post-Fight exchange – Highlights

Former undisputed WBA heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has found himself in the winner’s enclosure for the first time in over two-years, bouncing back to winning ways courtesy of a unanimous decision (118-111, 117-111, 117-111) victory over American challenger, Jermaine Franklin at The O2 Arena in London, England. Joshua, who made his London homecoming tonight against […]

Joshua, who made his London homecoming tonight against the now-21-2 professional, Franklin, managed to return to winning ways for the first time since defending his titles against Bulgarian veteran, Kubrat Pulev in a ninth round knockout in December 2020.

Scoring a unanimous decision victory over Franklin — who returned to the UK following a main event bout with common-foe, Dillian Whyte last year, Joshua, who had slumped to consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, and then Andy Ruiz Jr. in his last five professional walks, worked well behind a jab and counter right hand over the course of the twelve round limit.

Sharing a tense moment with Franklin post-fight, Joshua moved his glove toward the back of the latter’s head following the conclusion of the bout, before leaning in toward Franklin, weighing him backwards.

Once again pushing his glove toward Franklin, this time toward his face — Anthony Joshua and the former were corralled by security officials as teams from both sides attempted to enter the right.

Below, catch the highlights from Anthony Joshua’s decision win over Jermaine Franklin

Drama at the final bell! #JoshuaFranklin pic.twitter.com/vegJjiQiyY

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) April 1, 2023

Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin – Betting Preview

Saturday, April 1. may spell make or break at the very top of the sport for former WBA undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, as the faltering British puncher takes on American challenger, Jermaine Franklin – in the former’s first non-title bout since 2015. Joshua, a former WBA, IBO, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion, has […]

Joshua, a former WBA, IBO, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion, has yet to return to professional boxing since August of last year, suffering a split decision loss in a one-sided defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in the pair’s championship rematch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Suffering his second consecutive loss to the Ukrainian striker, Joshua slumped to 24-3 as a professional – following a stunning, upset knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. on short notice back in June 2019 in his debut on North American soil.

Seeing high-profile fights against current undisputed WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury – and fellow former gold holder, Deontay Wilder fall to the wayside amid his continued losing streak against former cruiserweight titleholder, Usyk, Joshua headlines at The O2 Arena on Saturday in London.

Taking on the 21-1 professional, Franklin, who is yet to touch gold in his eight year professional career, the United States native, who headlined against common-foe, Dillian Whyte back in November of last year at Wembley Stadium, suffered the first loss of his career in a majority decision defeat.

Racking up championship wins tenfold over the course of his career, Watford native, Joshua is expected to bounce back and prevent a third straight loss against Franklin this weekend on home soil – with BetWay placing the former as high as a -1,000 betting favorite to defeat Franklin, who comes in as a high +600 betting underdog.

Beyond outright betting on the outcome of Joshua’s non-title fight with Franklin, the British heavyweight has been tipped as low as -400 to stop Franklin via KO, or TKO inside the distance – while the former, who holds 14 career knockout victories, is a sizeable +1,000 betting underdog to prevent the judges’ involvement.

Expected to most likely emerge with his first win since December 2020 from the fifth to eight round onwards, Joshua is as low as -400 to successfully take a decision triumph over distinct underdog, Franklin.

Winning IBF gold back in April 2016, Joshua flattened Charles Martin with a second round KO at the same venue as this weekend’s matchup, before taking home wins in title fights against the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz Jr., and Kubrat Pulev.

And despite odds favoring Joshua to return to the winner’s enclosure this weekend against Franklin, Johnny Nelson claims the former world champion should likely hang up his gloves if he suffers an upset defeat.

“If Anthony Joshua loses, he jacks it in,” Nelson wrote. “If he doesn’t jack it, he should jack it. Because it’s a hard mountain to climb. Especially when you’ve had the success and the heights that he’s had. So he can’t afford to lose. That’s a must. Then from that, it’s confidence building.”

Ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou claims he never avoided Jon Jones: ‘I would fight him twice a month’

Francis Ngannou may never step foot in a UFC Octagon again, but he assures MMA fans that the last thing on his mind before leaving the promotion was avoiding Jon Jones. Nearly a week has passed since Jones took over the heavyweight division in his UFC return, and since then he and Ngannou have remained […]

Francis Ngannou may never step foot in a UFC Octagon again, but he assures MMA fans that the last thing on his mind before leaving the promotion was avoiding Jon Jones.

Nearly a week has passed since Jones took over the heavyweight division in his UFC return, and since then he and Ngannou have remained a topic of conversation.

Once Jones’ arm was raised at UFC 285, Francis Ngannou sent out a tweet which many have considered to be a backhanded compliment.

During the post-fight press conference, Jones had the tweet read to him, and he did not have a kind choice of words for his heavyweight counterpart.

Speaking yesterday with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, Francis Ngannou said that he is at peace with himself and is not concerned by Jones’ comments because he pursued that matchup before his departure.

“I did everything to have that fight. At the end it just felt like begging to keep me, and maybe do something that I don’t want. Yes I wanted that fight, but not at any cost.”

Ngannou was not amused by Dana White’s public comments stating that he avoided a fight with Jones.

He doubled down on the idea that the sole reason he parted ways with the UFC was due to the promotion failing to meet his contract demands on numerous occasions.

“I don’t care about what Dana White said, that was my call not his call.”

He once again took his thoughts to Twitter with videos of White’s change of heart which Francis Ngannou clearly felt was hypocritical.

Ngannou was seen watching Jones’ return against Ciryl Gane with his family in a positive manner and he says this is because he was simply a viewer just like everyone else, and he did not feel any differently after seeing Jones win.

Speaking with several promotions since his UFC exit, Ngannou said that fans should not look back and ponder at the matchup which never took place.

It seems as though the two colossal figures will never cross paths again, and Francis Ngannou is certain that the last thing on his mind was fearing Jones.

“There is not a fight on earth that I will back down from. He might be the best fighter ever, but he’s not the guy that I’m running away from.”

“I would fight Jon Jones twice a month.”

Although the two may have some unfriendly words for each other going forward, the bout is one that fans will have to look past, as Ngannou has his sights set on a professional debut in the boxing ring.

“I want to do one boxing match first, then maybe go back to MMA.”

Ngannou said that he had spoken to Eddie Hearn about a potential matchup with Anthony Joshua, but the majority of the conversation has been with Deontay Wilder’s team.

He dreams of a massive boxing event in Africa, and did not rule out the possibility of returning to MMA one day, as he also had talks with PFL and ONE FC.

Who do you think would have won between MMA’s all-time great and Francis Ngannou?

Eddie Hearn hopes to book eventual Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua fight: ‘I was pretty captivated’

Matchroom Boxing leader, Eddie Hearn has revealed he has spoken with former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou amid the Cameroonian’s departure from the organization, following speculation that the Batie striker is set to make a transition to professional boxing in his next combat sports walk. Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner […]

Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the Dana White-led UFC, saw his contractual obligations with the promotion come to an end officially on December 9. – before he subsequently departed the organization officially earlier this month.

As a result, Ngannou was officially stripped of the undisputed heavyweight crown, with former light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones set to return at UFC 285 on March 4. in a vacant title fight against former interim heavyweight titleholder, Ciryl Gane.

Linked initially with a potential fight against WBC heavyweight champion and Queensberry Promotion’s mainstay, Tyson Fury, Ngannou has welcomed a potential fight – particularly a hybrid-rules pairing.

Eddie Hearn weighs up potential Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua showdown

However, according to Hearn – who revealed he had held initial talks with Ngannou, he believes the former UFC kingpin should tackle former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua in his professional boxing debut.

“We’ll see what happens,” Eddie Hearn told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “For me, we would love to be involved with his (Francis Ngannou) career. The Anthony Joshua fight is probably among the biggest fights that can be made in any sport. Obviously, the Tyson Fury fight is there for him as well.”

“I was pretty captivated by him,” Hearn explained. “I’m not a massive MMA fan, but I still respect what he’s achieved there. But I just found him to be an outstanding gentleman. We’ll see how it goes.”

Hearn further claimed that should Ngannou fight Joshua – and land a stunning knockout victory over the former two-time heavyweight champion, it would likely go down as the biggest upset in the history of the sport.

“The UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua; the complete unknown,” Hearn said. “The unknown of how good is Francis Ngannou? We know he punches extremely hard, if he lands one on Anthony Joshua, is it the greatest upset of all time? Or will AJ completely streamroll him and you’ll see Francis Ngannou get knocked out? That’s the attraction of that fight – the unknown.”