Francis Ngannou took on Tyson Fury in a fight this past weekend. Going into the fight, Fury was a heavy favorite and most expected him to stop Ngannou in the later rounds. However, if we have learned something from boxing over the years, it is the unpredictable nature of the sport. In many people’s eyes, Francis Ngannou won the fight. However, in a recent interview with MMAHour, promoter Eddie Hearn believes he has the right fight in mind to bring Francis Ngannou and MMA fans back to reality.
The fight between Ngannou and Fury was announced earlier this year. At the time, many fighters and pundits dubbed this a gimmick fight. On paper, a fighter making his boxing debut should not be a problem for the best heavyweight of this generation. However, that was not the case that night.
Not only did Francis outbox Fury, but he also secured the only knockdown of the fight. Ever since that performance, Ngannou’s name has been linked with the biggest names in boxing for a fight. Anthony Joshua is one of the names linked. Is that a fight that makes sense at this point?
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou to emulate Foreman and Ali?
In a recent episode of the MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani was joined by Eddie Hearn. While speaking of the Ngannou fight, Eddie Hearn suggested an interesting next fight for ‘The Predator’. He suggested something similar to George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Rumble in the Jungle, which took place in 1974. He said:
“Francis Ngannou vs Anthony Joshua perhaps in Africa, perhaps the rumble in the jungle 2 is one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport. And I promise you this, respect to Francis, easy work for my man. I know you’re (Helwani) getting a big high right now and the MMA world is walking in the clouds, but we will bring it straight back down to reality.”
In the conversation, Eddie Hearn also gave props to Ngannou. He said that before Saturday, the fight was considered a gimmick fight. However, given his performance on Saturday, we are now having serious debates about who would win between him and Joshua. This goes to show what an incredible performance Ngannou put on.
A fight between Ngannou and Joshua at this point in time will be perfect. Joshua has been in a slump in his last few fights and could use a big name to revive some of the hype around him.
Moreover, given what Ngannou just did, fans would love to see him against another top heavyweight. Joshua’s last fight was a knockout win over Robert Helenius in August this year. At this point in time, this fight is a win-win fight for both fighters involved.
