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), who was expected to knock out Ngannou (0-2), the former UFC Heavyweight Champion in October, did just that.
In comparison between the two boxers, Hearn wasn’t surprised to see Joshua produce a more definitive result.
“(Fury) struggled against Otto Wallin. AJ destroyed him, it was a mismatch,” Hearn told MMA Junkie. “He struggled against Francis Ngannou. AJ dominated him. It was a mismatch. It’s not necessarily about comparing the two, but it’s nice.”
Hearn wants Ngannou to continue his journey into heavyweight boxing. Hearn thinks Ngannou is capable of winning in the boxing ring, despite the devastating result.
“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.”
