Eddie Hearn thinks [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] got a raw deal in his controversial split decision loss to Tyson Fury, but sees the result as one that shakes up boxing’s heavyweight division.
Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, had his eyes on Saturday’s showdown between WBC heavyweight champion Fury and former UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou in Saudi Arabia – seemingly along with the rest of the combat sports world.
Odds and expectations pegged it as a likely blowout result for Fury coming in, but the reality was much different. Ngannou kept it highly competitive from beginning to end and even had the fight’s only knockdown in Round 3 that created a narrow result on the scorecards. Two of three judges scored it for Fury, generating much outrage.
Hearn is never one to mince words, and he thinks Ngannou should’ve had his hand raised.
“I’m baffled, really,” Hearn told Boxing Social. “Firstly, I feel like Ngannou was robbed. Obviously, he scored the knockdown. No one actually did anything in the fight. The fight was a stinker. But Ngannou won the fight. I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation. You’re talking about a guy that has never boxed before. And respect to him, because he was better than I thought. … Fury looked like he has never put on a pair of boxing gloves before in his life. I don’t know whether he’s shot, I don’t know whether he didn’t train, I don’t know whether he was thinking about the (Oleksandr) Uysk fight. He was absolutely awful.”
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Hearn thinks Ngannou “won the fight by two rounds” and called the decision “mental,” but that Ngannou already has established himself as a presence in the boxing heavyweight division.
If Hearn had control of how the future played out, he said Fury vs. his fighter [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] would be the most logical matchup, but he knows a fight between Fury and Usyk is critical in order to unify all the heavyweight championship belts.
If that’s what happens, Hearn said a matchup between Joshua and Ngannou makes sense, and he thinks Joshua would put forth the lopsided contest that was expected from Fury.
“Let A.J. go in there and end (Fury’s) career, please,” Hearn said. “Or Ngannou has earned the right for a big fight. Let A.J. go in and knock Ngannou out inside three rounds. Not a problem. Forget about Fury-Usyk – dead fight. No one’s interested in that fight at all. I cannot believe what I was watching. Fury didn’t even try. Ngannou is so tired, all he had to do was step on him.
“Scrap everything and just make A.J. vs. Fury now. I’m telling you now: A.J. will beat him comfortably, and he will stop him and finish his career – I’m telling you. If they have to do Fury vs. Usyk – which look, it’s still undisputed, but he just lost to a bloke that’s never boxed before – then let Ngannou fight A.J. See what happens. See what happens when someone lets their hands go on Francis Ngannou properly. But listen: Props to Ngannou. But awful. Absolutely awful.”
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.