Eddie Hearn has changed his tune when it comes to Francis Ngannou.
The big-time boxing promoter now sees a lot of potential in ‘The Predator’ after he dropped Tyson Fury in his boxing debut last weekend. Ngannou was even thought by many to have to won against the boxing champion, however two of the judges didn’t feel the same way, scoring it for Fury instead.
Rumble In The Jungle: Part II?
While Hearn wasn’t at all interested in promoting a Ngannou boxing match awhile ago, he sure is now after a blockbuster performance over the weekend. Hearn knows just the right opponent for MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion and that’s another super-fight with Anthony Joshua.
“I went back to AJ and said, look, I’ve met with France Ngannou, what a lovely gentleman. What do you think? And he went, ‘I’m not interested in that. I don’t like the gimmick stuff. I just wanna win the world heavyweight championship’… Now I’m looking at it and I’m thinking Francis Ngannou against Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said on The MMA Hour.
Hearn already has as vision in mind for Joshua vs. Ngannou, one that seems all too familiar for old-school boxing fans.
“Perhaps in Africa. Perhaps the Rumble in the Jungle 2,” Hearn continued. “It’s one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport.”
The first (as well as only) ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ came in 1974, where Muhammad Ali and George Foreman famously faced off in Africa in Kinshasa, Zaire. Nearly 50 years later, Hearn is pitching a sequel, this time between the former heavyweight champs.
‘Easy Work’ For Anthony Joshua
This script has yet to be written but Hearn claims to already know the ending.
“I promise you this, respect to Francis, easy work for my man [Joshua],” Hearn said. “I know the MMA world are just walking in the clouds, but we’ll bring it straight back down to reality. The things that he did, like I’ve never seen Tyson Fury. He looked petrified, like he got dropped in the third round. He did not wanna engage. He was thrown around like a ragdoll in the clinch. Francis did so many basic things well in there. His guard was solid. He caught shots.”
Francis Ngannou Had A Feat Like No Other
Hearn might not like Ngannou’s chances against Joshua, but that wouldn’t stop him from giving him his flowers for what he thought should’ve been a win for the Cameroonian.
“It’s the most remarkable, performance and event inside a ring that anyone has ever seen,” Hearn proclaimed of Francis Ngannou’s showing against Tyson Fury.
