Promoter Eddie Hearn predicts Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou will bring in 1 million PPV buys next month in their heavyweight clash on DAZN and Sky PPV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Hearn believes that boxing fans are giving the former UFC powerhouse Ngannou a chance of winning after the way he performed in his controversial 10-round split decision last October.
Joshua’s Resurgence…or Illusion?
Moreover, Hearn feels that Joshua’s recent win over the capable Otto Wallin last December has a lot of people believing he’s now the best fighter in the world, and would beat Fury.
The way Fury has looked in his last two fights against Ngannou and Derek Chisora, it’s easy to picture Joshua don’t a job on the 35-year-old fossil.
Whether that makes Joshua the #1 fighter in the division would be hard to say without him facing Zhilei Zhang and some of the other contenders. If Joshua beats Fury, you could say he’s the best heavyweight in the UK, but not in the world.
“I’m confident, but I’m nervous. Ngannou is a massive guy,” said Eddie Hearn to Secondsout when asked if he’s confident Anthony Joshua will defeat Francis Ngannou on March 8th.
“You’re expected to win the fight. The guy [Ngannou] is 0-1, but you know he’s a lump. He’s very, very confident. He has a good mindset, and he can punch very hard. There are a lot of things that you need that are attributes in the heavyweight division.
“So, I do expect AJ to do a job on him, but I expect it to be dangerous and it’s going to be one of them when it’s all over and say, ‘On we go.’
A Perfect Storm for PPV Success
“It could do a million. It’s a big fight,” said Hearn when asked how many PPV buys Joshua vs. Ngannou will do on DAZN and Sky Sports.
“It’s a mad world that we live in where you’re only as good as your last fight, where all of a sudden, many people believe AJ could be the best heavyweight in the world. He could beat Fury; he could do this. So there’s a lot more momentum behind him now. Plus, the Ngannou-Fury fight.
“One of the problems with the Ngannou-Fury fight was, no one really thought he [Ngannou] had a chance. I didn’t. Now, people are looking at him in that fight, dropping him and arguably beating him and nearly beating him and saying, ‘He might win this.’
“So, you’ve got the MMA world, you got the boxing world and you got the casual world. Now, you got a lot of believers in Francis Ngannou. So, I think it’s going to be a huge night,” said Hearn.
