"Terrible for boxing" - Eddie Hearn slams Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

Eddie Hearn isn't a fan of Tyson Fury fighting Francis Ngannou next.

Earlier this week, the combat sports world was turned on its head. After weeks of speculation, 'The Gypsy King' announced that he would be fighting 'The Predator' next. Weeks previously, Frank Warren revealed that Fury's planned fight with Oleksandr Usyk was off the table.

Now, with the WBC heavyweight champion's return announced, fans know why. The reaction to the fight has been mixed, with many MMA fans happy to see Ngannou get a payday, and a shot at glory. However, many boxing pundits and analysts have slammed the fight announcement.

It's safe to say that Eddie Hearn falls more into the second camp than the first. In a recent interview with FightHype, the boxing promoter discussed the fight announcement. There, Hearn admitted that he did personally approach Anthony Joshua about fighting Ngannou.

However, that's a lot different than Tyson Fury fighting him, as he had a unification fight with Usyk in the works. In the interview, Hearn remarked:

“I took the [Ngannou] fight to AJ. He wasn’t interested. But I knew that there was a chance that [Ngannou] could fight someone. I think it’s terrible for boxing, because obviously there was a chance to make the undisputed fight [between Fury and Usyk]... You could do this fight a million times and we wouldn’t win once. I’m being serious. That’s the reality. You’re talking about the world heavyweight champion against someone who has never boxed in a professional fight."

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Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou: Betting Odds

The betting odds seem to align with Eddie Hearn's thoughts on Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou.

'The Predator' is viewed as one of the hardest-hitting MMA fighters of all time. Having only lost to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in his UFC career, his resume in the cage is second to none.

However, his return in October will instead be his boxing debut. To make matters worse, he's facing one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, who also happens to be a bad stylistic matchup for him.

With that in mind, the opening betting odds currently favor Tyson Fury tremendously. According to the latest betting odds from FanDuel, the WBC heavyweight champion is currently a massive -1100 favorite for October.

Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou is a massive +620 betting underdog for his boxing debut. While the odds will change as fans get closer to fight night, they likely won't move much.