RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua is the best heavyweight boxer on the planet right now, and his performance against Francis Ngannou boosted his confidence.
Joshua (28-3) violently knocked out Ngannou (0-2) in Round 2 at Kingdom Arena, doing what many in the boxing world expected Tyson Fury to do against the former UFC heavyweight champion in October.
In comparison between the two boxers, Hearn wasn’t surprised to see Joshua produce a more definitive result.
“(Fury) struggled against Otto Wallin. A.J. destroyed him, it was a mismatch,” Hearn told MMA Junkie. “He struggled against Francis Ngannou. A.J. destroyed him, it was a mismatch. It’s not necessarily about comparing the two, but it’s nice.”
Hearn also would like to see Ngannou continue his venture into the world of heavyweight boxing. Although the result on the night was a devastating finish, Hearn believes Ngannou can pick up wins inside the boxing ring.
“He can beat a lot of heavyweights, just not Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said. “Maybe he can beat Tyson Fury, but you can’t get knocked out like that too often. And that’s just a stark reminder of the difference between elite-level boxing and MMA.”
