If anybody on Earth knows what’s going on with the rumored Fury vs Ngannou fight, it’s Matchroom Boxing executive Eddie Hearn. Hearn recently discussed the rumor mill around PFL marquee signing and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in an interview with Boxing Social.
When discussing Ngannou’s hotly rumored clash with Tyson Fury, a contender for one of the biggest events in combat sports, Hearn described the fight as he understands it as “disappointing.”
Eddie Hearn: Ngannou vs Fury Will Be Exhibition Match
“Yes, I believe [that is going to happen]. This is what I’ve heard: It’ll be an exhibition, apparently. No knockdowns or anything.
I don’t know, I’m only telling you what I’ve heard. Who knows what’s what, but I think that is, apparently, what is going to be the next fight [for Fury]. [It’s] disappointing, but it is what it is.”
Disappointing might be understating the fact. Francis Ngannou holds the world record for hardest puncher on the planet. Tyson Fury’s own knockout power is a major selling point for the towering heavyweight, the lineal champion of the world in the squared circle.
For many fight fans, watching these two titans of the sport restricted to points sparring will feel worse than the fight not happening at all.
Eddie Hearn’s disappointment may also be compounded by Fury’s failure to come to terms with a potentially enormous clash with Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk holds the only heavyweight titles that Fury doesn’t.
A fight between the two would crown the world’s undisputed heavyweight champ, and Hearn is disappointed not to see it come to fruition.
“I’m sure it would be a big event, but I want to see him fight Usyk. I feel like the undisputed championship, we’ve chased it for so long, that it would be nice to get an undisputed champion.
But Tyson is in charge of his own career, and I’m sure he’s got a fat load of money, and good luck to him.”
Francis Ngnanou, for his part, signed with the Professional Fighters’ League after leaving the UFC earlier this year. Ngannou has not yet announced a fight, and has not fought since his final title defense, against Ciryl Gane, last January.
Key to Ngnannou’s landmark PFL deal is the option left open for him to enter the boxing ring. Ngannou has long stated his intention to enter the squared circle, and realistically as a former UFC champion he should expect to fight a major name.
While the likes of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder have been proposed as potential opponents for Ngannou, Tyson Fury remains by far the most lucrative option for the former UFC champ.
