Joshua is talking to Ngannou

Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn says he has held talks with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou about the prospect of fighting the British-Nigerian.

Ngannou is now the hottest candidate in the market after leaving the UFC after failing to agree on a contract extension and Joshua’s promoter wasting no time in contacting the heavyweight star, who was forced to step away to do with his title.

And the Matchroom Boxing chief hopes Joshua beats Tyson Fury in the crossover super fight with Ngannou.

“We’ll see what happens. As far as I’m concerned, we’d love to be involved in his career,” Hearn said on The MMA Hour.

“The Anthony Joshua fight is probably one of the biggest fights to be had in any sport. Naturally, the Tyson Fury fight is also there for him.

“I was quite fascinated by him. I’m not a huge MMA fan, but I still respect what he accomplished there. But I just thought he was an excellent gentleman. We’ll see how it goes.”

Hearn would rather Ngannou jump straight into a blockbuster fight with Joshua, rather than work his way up.

“I mean, I think he should fight Anthony Joshua. I don’t get it – this is another conversation I had with Nate Diaz’s men.

“These guys have a mountain to climb in terms of the challenge of fighting an elite boxer, but to go through the two or three fight process – one fight might make you look bad because you’re learning, so the value is really the unknown,” Hearn said on The MMA Hour.

“What happens when two titans of the martial arts world collide? The UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua.

“The complete unknown. The unknown of how good Francis Ngannou is? We know he hits extremely hard, if he lands one on Anthony Joshua, is that the greatest upset of all time? Or will AJ roll him full steam and see Francis Ngannou knocked out? That’s the appeal of that fight, the unknown.

“So for me, when I represent Francis Ngannou, I want to make sure I maximize every available dollar on this next move.

“He’s done the hard work, he’s had the busy years behind him. He’s done the work to put himself in a position where he can get on with what he wants to do,” Hearn said.