The promoter says AJ would KO Fury inside six rounds (Pictures: Getty / Boxing Social)
Eddie Hearn has slammed Tyson Fury’s ‘awful’ performance against Francis Ngannou in their Battle of the Baddest showdown on Saturday night and claims Anthony Joshua would ‘finish his career’.
The WBC heavyweight champion was expected to walk through the former UFC star – who had never boxed professionally before – but was given a torrid night in Saudi Arabia.
Fury was dropped in the third round by a vicious left hand from Ngannou and many people, including one of the three judges, felt he had done enough to win as Fury escaped Riyadh with a split-decision victory.
Hearn, who promotes Joshua, was in disbelief at what he witnessed and felt Ngannou was the clear winner, slamming Fury’s performance and suggesting he may be over the hill.
‘I’m baffled really. I can’t believe it. Firstly, I feel like Ngannou was robbed,’ Hearn told Boxing Social shortly after the fight.
‘Obviously he scored the knockdown but 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 was given a tougher night than anyone had expected (Picture: Getty)
‘But Fury looked like he had never put on a pair of boxing gloves before in his life! I don’t know whether he’s shot, whether he didn’t train, I don’t know whether he was thinking about the [Oleksandr] Usyk fight. He was absolutely awful.
‘Let AJ go in there and end his career please, or Ngannou has earned the right for a big fight. Let AJ go in and knock Ngannou out inside three rounds, not a problem.
‘Forget about Fury-Usyk, dead fight. No-one is interested in that fight at all. I cannot believe what I was watching.
‘Fury didn’t even try. Ngannou was so tired all he had to do was step on him. Ngannou won the fight by two rounds. Mental!’
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On the knockdown, he continued: ‘It wasn’t even a big shot! That’s what I’m saying. It sort of glanced off the shoulder.
‘I don’t know whether his punch-resistance isn’t there anymore, I don’t know what the [Deontay] Wilder fights took out of him.
‘I’ve told you before, and people will laugh at me, but AJ beats Tyson Fury every day of the week and twice on Sunday. He will knock him out inside six rounds. And we are in danger of not getting that fight.
‘Scrap everything and just make AJ against Fury now. And I’m telling you, AJ will beat him comfortably, and stop him, and finish his career. I’m telling you!’
MORE : ‘Everybody knows the outcome’ – Mike Tyson responds to claims Francis Ngannou was robbed
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‘Fury looked like he’d never put on a pair of boxing gloves before!’
