Eddie Hearn details how Francis Ngannou fight can directly impact Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua

Eddie Hearn has discussed how the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou fight could directly influence the long-awaited potential Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua matchup.

MMA star and former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against boxing's consensus lineal and WBC heavyweight champion Fury in October 2023. While their closely-contested non-title matchup witnessed Fury win by split decision, many believe that his MMA counterpart was more deserving of the judges' nod.

After Francis Ngannou's impressive performance in his maiden boxing bout, he's been booked to fight yet another boxing megastar. 'The Predator' is set to face former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 8 or March 9, 2024.

Meanwhile, lineal and WBC heavyweight kingpin Fury is scheduled to fight WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17, 2024. The Fury-Usyk title unification clash would crown boxing's new undisputed heavyweight champion.

In the latest edition of The MMA Hour podcast, Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, spoke to Ariel Helwani regarding the upcoming Joshua-Ngannou fight and more. Helwani notably asked him whether he sees Fury facing Joshua after he (Fury) fights Usyk.

Hearn responded by suggesting that based on their contracts, Fury and Usyk would likely have to fight one another twice consecutively, irrespective of who wins their first encounter. On that note, he explained how a win over Ngannou could surely earn Joshua a fight against archnemesis Fury.

The Matchroom Boxing promoter stated:

"I don't know enough. I mean, as I understand it, it's a two-fight deal. which would mean a two-way rematch. But things change in boxing. Look, if Tyson Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk, and 'AJ' knocks out Francis Ngannou, our plan is to probably go on and fight for the IBF world title. You know the entire world is going to say, 'Give me 'AJ' against Tyson Fury.' There'll never be a bigger fight in the history of the sport, in my opinion. So, we'll see."

He added:

"But right now, everyone's just focused on -- you've got 'AJ' against Ngannou, Fury against Usyk, all within three weeks of each other in the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia]."

Check out Eddie Hearn's comments below (12:02):

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Francis Ngannou foresees wild 2024 ahead of Anthony Joshua boxing match

Francis Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in January 2023 and eventually signed with the PFL. It's been reported that 'The Predator' will make his PFL debut this year. Meanwhile, after the announcement of his boxing match against Joshua, Ngannou prognosticated an eventful 2024 and tweeted:

"Making big moves in the new year, 2024 is going to be [fire]"

Moreover, the widely-revered knockout artist put forth an Instagram post addressing Joshua and expressing excitement over their upcoming boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Many foresee the less-experienced pugilist, Ngannou, as the underdog in that matchup. Regardless, 'The Predator' could jeopardize a possible Fury-Joshua fight should he manage to defeat 'AJ' on March 8/March 9.