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Rumble in The Jungle II!

By Daily Sports Nigeria on November 3, 2023

• Eddie Hearn is eyeing a potential Joshua and Ngannou – boxing’s new sensation – fight in Africa

Matchroom Sport CEO Eddie Hearn has publicly called for a fight between his boxer Anthony Joshua 26-3 (23) and Francis Ngannou 0-1 proposing that both fighters of African heritage battle in Africa.

Cameroon’s Ngannou, 37, shocked the boxing world when he came close to defeating WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) in a 10-round non-title bout at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

The former UFC heavyweight champion had Britain’s Fury, 35, on the canvas in the third round, only to lose through split decision 95-94, 94-95 and 93-96, a result that many boxing fans worldwide aren’t satisfied with.

Ngannou was expected to be out of his depth against Fury, but instead he proved he could hang with the best in the big man division.

Now, other top contenders are lining up to face him, including former two-time WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Joshua.

Hearn is eyeing a sequel to the Rumble in The Jungle which took place almost 50 years ago when Muhammad Ali faced George Foreman at the Stade Tata Raphaël in Congo.

“AJ against Francis Ngannou is absolutely massive, it’s massive. Two giants next to each other. Who knows what’s going to happen? I can’t even believe we’re debating this,” the Matchroom Boxing boss said on The MMA Hour.

“The money for Francis Ngannou in boxing, he ain’t going back (to MMA). The money that I know AJ against Ngannou could generate. A lot more than Ngannou got against Fury. Joshua wasn’t originally interested in the gimmick fight when it was proposed to him. A lot of people’s perception pre-fight was that Fury vs Ngannou was farcical.

“We are now in the position where we’re debating if Francis Ngannou beats Anthony Joshua. Take my money and I will show you what happens when Anthony Joshua fights Francis Ngannou. I said three rounds last Saturday, but I’ll be generous and say six rounds (for Joshua to beat Ngannou).”

Hearn also stated that he believed Ngannou should have won the fight against Furu saying, “I got to give him respect because [Ngannou] took a few shots early in the fight and he seemed to take them well, with a good chin. It was a close fight. I felt he won the fight by one or two rounds, but still.”

Fury struggled to figure out Ngannou, who did his best work as a counterpuncher and even boxed out of the southpaw stance. He did enough, according to Hearn, to deserve the nod.

Source Punch Ng

Posted November 3, 2023