British promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed his desire to arrange a fight between his client, Anthony Joshua, and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou. The showdown is intended to take place in Africa:
"At the moment, Ngannou either needs to have a rematch with Fury or a bout with Joshua. If the Usyk-Fury fight happens, and I believe it will, then Ngannou should face Joshua. Then the winners of these fights will meet face-to-face.
Joshua against Ngannou would be a tremendous bout. Two giants in the ring - who knows what will happen? I can't even believe we're discussing such a possibility. Respect to Francis; he pulled Tyson out of his comfort zone. Ngannou can only earn in boxing; there's no point in returning to MMA. A fight with Joshua will bring him a much larger purse than Fury," Hearn said on The MMA Hour.
On the night of October 29, Ngannou made his professional boxing debut - he lost by a split decision to Tyson Fury but knocked him down in the third round. Anthony Joshua's most recent boxing match was against Robert Helenius - whom he knocked out in the 7th round.