Francis Ngannou given a fair warning about navigating the sport of boxing

Eddie Hearn has given Francis Ngannou some cautionary advice as the former UFC heavyweight champion navigates the waters of free agency. The Cameroonian fighter left the organization last month after disagreeing on contract renewal terms.

While the 36-year-old has made no secret of his desire to pursue a boxing match against Tyson Fury, there still needs to be solid developments on that front. However, it seems that Hearn's promotional company, Matchroom Boxing, has been in contact with Ngannou.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the boxing promoter stated that he had spoken to Francis Ngannou.

While Eddie Hearn claimed to be impressed with Ngannou's knowledge of the combat sports business, he also warned 'The Predator' about the tricky nature of navigating boxing:

"He [Francis Ngannou] has a new ocean to navigate, which is a lot more rocky than the world of MMA and UFC... He’s in the wild west of boxing… We’ll see what happens. For me, we would love to be involved in his career... I was pretty captivated by him. I’m not a massive MMA fan, but I respect what he’s done there.”

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Eddie Hearn claims Francis Ngannou should face Anthony Joshua in his boxing debut

Francis Ngannou made headlines when his departure from the UFC was announced. At the time, he reigned as the heavyweight champion.

The 36-year-old's unexpected exit was credited to failed contract negotiations and, most importantly, the UFC's refusal to accomadate requests such as Ngannou's plans to compete in boxing.

Now that the Cameroonian fighter is a free agent, it's likely that numerous MMA promotions have approached him to join their organization. However, it seems Ngannou is intent on chasing his dream of boxing.

While Tyson Fury remains 'The Predator's first preference as an opponent in his boxing debut, Eddie Hearn recently claimed that the matchup he has in mind for Francis Ngannou is with Anthony Joshua.

In the same interview, Hearn recalled his conversation with Ngannou, saying:

"The Anthony Joshua fight is just probably one of the biggest fights that could be made across any kind of sport... What happens when two titans from the world of fight sports collide?... It’s the unknown of - How good is Ngannou?

He continued:

"We know he punches extremely hard. If he lands one on Joshua, is it the greatest upset of all time? Or will AJ completely steamroll him, and you’ll see Ngannou get knocked out? That’s the attraction of that fight, the unknown."