The boxing world was in shock on Sunday morning after Tyson Fury eked out a controversial split decision against Francis Ngannou – nobody more so than Eddie Hearn.
It is of course no surprise that Hearn – promoter of Fury’s great rival Anthony Joshua – would be ready to give his take on Saturday night’s events in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. And the Matchroom supremo did not disappoint.
Hearn said he was stunned by Fury being knocked down by Ngannou, and almost beaten by a former UFC heavyweight champion who had never boxed professionally before.
More than that, he claims it was a great night for his man Joshua, who he claims now has the route to heavyweight title redemption clearly in front of him.
Hearn says Joshua is future king
Joshua of course lost his titles to Oleksandr Usyk by decision in September 2021, and failed to reclaim them in their rematch in Saudi in August 2022. He no longer has a title, and it is Fury vs Usyk now set to decide the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight king since Lennox Lewis back in 1999. Hearn though, believes the future is golden.
He said: “I’m buzzing for Anthony Joshua because the heavyweight division got turned on its head tonight, and I believe he’s gonna beat them all.
“Call me deluded, call me a fan boy. He knocks out Tyson Fury no problem. He beats Deontay Wilder no problem. And he definitely knocks out Francis Ngannou. So take your pick, 2024 the big boy is coming.”
‘Boxing world’s gone mad’ – Hearn
While Hearn believes Joshua can now climb back to the top of the heavyweight mountain, he re-iterated his incredulous shock at what had gone down in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
“I’m absolutely lost for words. Francis Ngannou has never boxed before. I mean fair play to him, I didn’t think he was overly impressive, but Tyson Fury looked like he’s never laced up a pair of gloves before. Got dropped in the third round, never threw a punch. Ngannou never threw a punch after. I thought Ngannou won by two rounds. The boxing world’s gone mad.”
Fury vs Usyk next?
While that Fury vs Usyk unification battle is set to decide the next ruler of boxing’s marquee weight class, Hearn says it shouldn’t even happen now.
“Forget Fury/Usyk, nobody’s interesting. Give us Fury against AJ, AJ will knock Tyson Fury out inside six rounds. Make the fight otherwise we’ll never get it. Or rematch Ngannou, because the guy just deserves to have had one of the greatest wins. I mean I don’t know what I was watching, I don’t know what Tyson Fury was doing, I’m still completely lost for words.
“Give Ngannou his shot, you have to give him the respect. He’s a boxing novice, Fury looked petrified from the first round, nobody did anything. He lost the fight, so unbelievable scenes, I cannot believe what we just witnessed.”
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— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) October 29, 2023
