Eddie Hearn dangles big money fight vs Anthony Joshua to former UFC champ Francis Ngannou

British promoter Eddie Hearn has dangled a prospective big money fight for former UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou, 36, is currently a free agent after negotiations for a contract extension with the UFC fell apart. Currently in the market for his next move, Hearn revealed that he talked to Ngannou about a potential fight with former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua.

“For me, we would love to be involved in his career,” the Matchroom Boxing big boss said in an interview with MMA Fighting’s The MMA Hour.

“The Anthony Joshua fight is probably one of the biggest fights that can be made across any kind of sport. I was pretty captivated by it. I am not a massive MMA fan but I still respect what he has achieved there.”

Ngannou, 17-3 as a professional mixed martial artist, was reportedly offered $8 million by the world’s premier MMA organization to defend his then world title to ex-UFC light heavyweight world champion Jon Jones but ultimately passed the opportunity when his demands were not met.

Because of his choices, Hearn believes that Ngannou has placed himself where he could maximize his earning potential moving forward.

“I respect him greatly for the way he has handled his career to a point that now he is in a fantastic position. He has a new ocean to navigate now which is a lot more rocky than the world of MMA and UFC,” Hearn said.

“He is in the wild west of boxing. He wants to build a team of people around him that can make sure they successfully navigate that ocean and maximize his potential.”

—JM Siasat/JMB, GMA Integrated News