Eddie Hearn accused of going "complete 180" on Francis Ngannou by former boxer - "It's a cash grab"

Carl Froch believes that Eddie Hearn's booking of Francis Ngannou is a cash grab.

Earlier this month, 'The Predator' signed his return to the boxing ring. Fresh off his split-decision loss to Tyson Fury in October, Ngannou will now face Anthony Joshua. For his part, 'AJ' is coming off a knockout win over Otto Wallin in December.

A bout between the two heavyweight contenders was seen as largely impossible this time last year. See, before Ngannou could book a bout with Fury, he was in discussions to face Deontay Wilder and others. However, one name that wasn't originally interested in facing the PFL heavyweight was Joshua.

Just a few short months ago, Eddie Hearn labeled the former UFC champion's boxing debut a cash grab. Furthermore, he opined that a bout between the MMA fighter and 'AJ' would be "easy money" for the latter.

Despite that, the Matchroom executive has booked Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou for March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

That has seemingly gotten under the skin of former champion Carl Froch. Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'The Cobra' took aim at Eddie Hearn. He stated (via Boxing Social):

“So Eddie Hearn has done a complete 180 on his original comments saying it’s a cash grab. Well, this is a cash grab, let’s be honest. It’s not a world title fight... This fight is only acceptable because Ngannou did so well against Fury, but let’s be honest this is a cash grab and I don’t think it’s good for heavyweight boxing.”

Check out his comments below (2:00):

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Francis Ngannou is excited to prove Eddie Hearn wrong

It's not lost on Francis Ngannou that Eddie Hearn was doubting him just a few months ago.

The March fight announcement came out of nowhere for many fans and was only possible due to Deontay Wilder's loss in December. That defeat to Joseph Parker wiped out a previously scheduled fight against Anthony Joshua.

Obviously, 'The Cobra' isn't exactly a big fan of the matchup itself. While 'The Predator' likely doesn't appreciate his comments, he has also taken note of Eddie Hearn's comments from a few months ago.

Speaking earlier today on The MMA Hour, Francis Ngannou referenced the promoter's old comments. In the interview with Ariel Helwani, the PFL heavyweight stated:

"Any of them that think they're going to have easy money, well that's too bad for them. If 'AJ' took the punch Fury took, I don't think that Anthony is going up."

Check out his comments below: