I don’t want to fight Ngannou, Joshua tells promoter

.Tyson praises fighter for sticking to game plan

Former two-time world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has told promoter, Eddie Hearn, that he has absolutely no interest in fighting newcomer, Francis Ngannou, when they discussed the opportunity of a big-money crossover clash, britishboxingnews.co.uk reports.

The 44-year-old boxing promoter explained that Joshua expressed zero interest in taking on the lineal UFC heavyweight champion, despite knowing the major money that could be earned.

When they discussed the possibility, Hearn claims that it was not even on his fighter’s radar, which is covered completely by his path back to heavyweight gold.

In a prickly interview with talkSPORT, Hearn told host Jim White that AJ said during their discussions that he has, How to Bet and Win “absolutely no interest at all,” in the fight, before adding: “I want to become heavyweight world champion again, I’ve got no interest in fighting Francis Ngannou.”

Previously, Hearn had discussed the notion of contacting Ngannou’s team and advising Joshua to ‘take the fight in a heartbeat’.

“Francis Ngannou came to me, we had a very nice meeting and he’s got a great story,” Hearn added. “He came to me because he wanted to fight Anthony Joshua. I went straight to AJ, I’ve said ‘look it’s a bit of a left-field one’ Tips and Tricks for Successful betting and don’t forget Anthony Joshua is not a world champion and didn’t have a shot at the world championship.”

But the Watford man completely shut down any chances of discussions further and remains locked in negotiations with American, Solid Understanding of Odds Deontay Wilder, for a mega-fight in January or February 2024.

Meanwhile, Ngannou’s trainer, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, has praised the Cameroonian for following the game plan against Tyson Fury.

Legendary boxer, Tyson, Strategies and Techniques for Success helped train Ngannou to go the full 10 rounds with Fury in their crossover boxing match 10 days ago in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou knocked down the WBC heavyweight champion in Round 3, but lost the bout by split decision.

“I was really proud of Francis Ngannou because he listened to everything I said,” Tyson said on a recent episode of “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson.”

“And I was telling everybody about the great left hook that he landed on his sparring partner and actually broke his leg, and I knew if he landed that left hook on anybody they were gone – and I was right. The champ went down. I’m happy. Best betting website in Nigeria I’m very grateful to be involved with his glory, his victory. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Mr. Francis.”

Ngannou is angling for a rematch with Fury, but “The Gypsy King” is expected to face Oleksandr Usyk next – a fight that already had contracts signed and was announced before Fury vs. Ngannou even happened.

Their undisputed heavyweight title unification fight reportedly will happen in February.