Eddie Hearn admits he’s feeling nervous for impending “dangerous” fight
Matchroom Promoter, Eddie Hearn, has admitted that there is one upcoming show of his that has got him biting his fingernails, as the fight date ticks closer, only time will tell whether he was right to be concerned.
Anthony Joshua has been one of Matchroom’s biggest assets ever since his debut in 2013, proving to be Hearn’s cash cow time and time again.
Consecutive defeats to Usyk seemed to put an end to Joshua’s global superstardom but a string of three wins on the spin in 2023, mainly his recent dominant outing against tricky southpaw Otto Wallin, have reconvinced the world that the Brit boxer is still a threat to the heavyweight crown.
Despite his aim of becoming a three-time world champion, Joshua and Hearn have opted to take the scenic route to the title and face former UFC superstar, Francis Ngannou, with the promise that the victor will challenge the winner of Fury-Usyk, and in an interview with iFL TV, Hearn revealed that the clash has got him feeling nervous.
“I’m always nervous about every AJ fight, especially that one because it is just the unknown isn’t it. We know more than we did [before he fought Fury] and what we got to see was a lot better than what I thought it would be, which was a very capable boxer who is very strong, hits very hard and has no fear. But, you are fighting a guy that is 0-1, which brings more pressure into it, so it is a must-win for AJ.”
“I think that he looks fantastic, I really do, but this fight is a little bit different. This isn’t Hrgovic, this isn’t Fury, arguably it shouldn’t be as tough as those fights, but it may be much more dangerous.”
Joshua-Ngannou takes place on Friday March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on both DAZN PPV and Sky Sports Box Office.