21 January 2024 , 14:36
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Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury has plenty to prove after his narrow escape against Francis Ngannou.
Fury was dropped in the third round by Ngannou last year before recovering to outpoint the former UFC world champion in Saudi Arabia. Fury is currently preparing to take on Oleksandr Usyk in a fight which will crown the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Ngannou, meanwhile, will take on Anthony Joshua on March 8 with the winner potentially going to face the winner of Fury's mega-fight with Usyk. But Hearn, who promotes Joshua, believes Fury has questions to answer after his near-miss.
"We had the opportunity to fight Nganou before but AJ didn't want to do it. He said he is a serious guy who wants to win a heavyweight championship. But I thought Ngannou beat Fury, if he didnt, it was a draw, or he lost by a round, it was that close," he told Mirror Fighting.
"He dropped Fury and that gave him credibility. What we don't know is was it a one-off? But we know the confidence he has from that fight will push him on in this fight, but we've seen him now and Ben Davison has 10 rounds to come up with a gameplan.
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"Maybe [Fury] is a shot fighter, we'll find out on February 17. It's very difficult to imagine going into a fight having no idea what the other guy is going to do. You've got to figure it out from the first bell. How big a puncher is Ngannou? People tell us he's a monstrous puncher but is Fury's chin going? We'll have to find out."
Joshua, meanwhile, expects an “explosive” encounter when he takes on Ngannou. “He brings two arms, a body, but his mind is different to everyone else. In terms of his frame and make-up I’ve seen people like him many times before,” he said.
On his thoughts when the Ngannou fight was offered, Joshua added: “No problem. Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything and we will see where it leads me. My main focus is Ngannou and getting through an intense training camp. I have got to take his mind and his spirit, it will be explosive. We can both trade and it will be a good fight.”