Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has hit back at Francis Ngannou after the Cameroonian blamed his defeat to Anthony Joshua on tactics employed outside of the ring.
Ngannou shocked the world when he dropped and almost defeated Tyson Fury last year, but it was a different story when he met ‘AJ’ earlier this month, as Joshua comfortably dispatched of the former UFC superstar with a brutal second-round stoppage win.
However, since the culmination of their bout, Ngannou has spoken out and revealed his belief that he was purposefully made to arrive to the arena early and tire himself out before he stepped through the ropes.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Hearn shared his disappointment with those comments.
“I was baffled. It is a bit disappointing really, he said that they got him to the arena [an hour early], who is they? You get given times by the broadcaster.
“He said that he was made to come to the arena early to tire him out for the fight, which is really an inexperienced boxing guy talking here, he should know better.
“You get your time, which is the ideal time that the organiser or the broadcaster would like you there, you make your own mind up. Some fighters like to get there three hours before, some like to get there an hour before, it all depends on the fighter.
“If AJ is told for example that ‘we want you there at 10 ‘o’ clock’ and we know that the fight is happening at 1am, then we would come a little bit later, because he doesn’t want to be hanging around that long.”
After his foray into the world of boxing during the last six months, Ngannou is set to return to the world of MMA, with a new opponent lined up for his Professional Fighters’ League debut, which is expected to take place before September.
