Anthony Joshua recently came head to head with Francis Ngannou for the first time ahead of their showdown on March 8 in Saudi Arabia and has now revealed the one issue that bothered him.
Joshua has done a great job of getting back into good form and back to having the support of the wider boxing public following a difficult 2021 and 2022 in which he lost his titles and failed to regain them against Oleksandr Usyk.
He has had three wins inside the last year against Jermain Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, and now has another chance to look good against Ngannou, a man who also had a standout 2023.
The former UFC heavyweight champion pushed Tyson Fury harder than anyone foresaw over 10 rounds on his boxing debut, though it’s a fight Lennox Lewis claims is just ‘a spectacle.’
Speaking to the MMA Hour, however, Joshua spoke of a small issue that irked him at the press conference to announce the fight and it was a perceived lack of respect regarding his promoter and Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn.
“I wanted them to reference him as a Hall of Fame promoter but they didn’t, but I thought I’m not going to cause any drama today, I’m going to let it slide.”
He then explained why he thinks Hearn is the best in the game.
“But yeah Eddie is a hot promoter in my opinion, he’s guided me from zero up to now, one of the best in the game and he’s trying to take over the market globally and I really respect him.”
It’s fair to say Hearn has done a fine job for Joshua, and should Joshua beat Ngannou, the pair will be heading toward one of the biggest-ever fights as they look to take on the winner of the undisputed match between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on February 17.
