Two-division world champion, Ricky Hatton, has named the opponent he believes Anthony Joshua should be lining up after Otto Wallin – and it’s not Deontay Wilder.
Joshua is continuing his journey to reclaim a heavyweight title, after losing his belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021. Since then, he has defeated both Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius and is now poised for a tougher test against Wallin on December 23.
Should he come through that test, the expectancy is that he will then finally face Wilder or alternatively challenge Filip Hrgovic for the IBF world title.
However, Hatton told Betting Sites that he should instead be eyeing up Francis Ngannou, who lost out to Tyson Fury via split-decision last month.
“I think Francis Ngannou, I wouldn’t say that he hits as hard as Wilder but he’s not far off. ‘AJ’ has got fantastic boxing ability hasn’t he? He’s got the size, the power, the strength, he’d be able to maybe stand at close quarters a little bit more comfortably than maybe Tyson [Fury] did against Ngannou.”
“Technically he [Wilder] is not even in the equation with ‘AJ’ when it comes to skill, boxing ability and talent, but he can hit and he is technically cr*p is Wilder. But, when that right-hand goes, he only needs one of them.”
It’s not that I don’t think ‘AJ’ can beat Wilder, I think that he is a better all-rounder and he probably would [beat Wilder]. I just think that Ngannou is the name on everyone’s lips right now, if he gets in with him and betters the performance that Tyson did, then we can maybe get the fight on that we have all wanted for who knows how long now [Fury vs Joshua].”
Eddie Hearn has said that he is open to making Joshua-Ngannou, in a bout billed as ‘Rumble in the Jungle 2’.