Eddie Hearn has revealed that there was an offer for former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to face Francis Ngannou.
However, it has now been announced that Ngannou will take on WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Now Joshua is set to face Dillian Whyte in a rematch of their 2015 classic where a win could put the former Olympian on course for a clash with Deontay Wilder later this year.
Speaking to FightHype, Hearn said that it was a fight which Joshua was never interested in despite the offer and believes that Fury vs. Ngannou is bad for the sport of boxing.
"I took the (Francis Ngannou) fight to AJ,” Hearn began.
“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).
“I understand the business side. I just feel like you should just be honest, like, ‘We have a chance to make a load of money for an easy fight. We’re gonna do that instead,’ and I don’t think anyone would begrudge it.
"MMA fans seem to be quite happy with it because I think they like Ngannou securing the bag, but boxing fans seem to be furious.
"There’s been so many back and forths with Tyson Fury, and I think some things he said people now look at. I understand he’s a great fighter, great character, and I don’t begrudge him for making a lot of money for an easy fight.”