Eddie Hearn's opinion on Francis Ngannou changes in four months ahead of Tyson Fury fight

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has been accused of changing his opinion on Francis Ngannou's punching ability in interviews just four months apart.

Initially, he expressed concern about Ngannou's powerful punch when discussing a potential fight with Derek Chisora. However, he later insisted that Ngannou "can't punch properly". Hearn dismissed the idea of Ngannou winning against Tyson Fury, who is set to face the UFC heavyweight champion under rival promoter Frank Warren's banner.

He told Boxing Social: "Don't be ridiculous...he (Ngannou) can't punch properly, you'll see - these guys, they're not strikers, they don't train to punch every day so no." When asked if Ngannou was "more dangerous than Oleksandr Usyk," Hearn laughed it off.

"The likelihood of Ngannou winning is like you [interviewer Charlie Parsons] fighting me," Hearn joked, likely referring to the significant size difference between them. "I actually mean that. You could chin me, with my chin in the air, I could let you chin me and it wouldn't even have any effect on me, and that's the same for Ngannou against Fury."

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Dev Sahni from Queensberry Promotions pointed out that this is quite different from what Hearn was saying just last June. Back then, he was on The MMA Hour discussing a potential fight between Ngannou and Chisora.

Despite the UFC champion telling Mirror Fighting that such a contest was never talked about, Hearn thought it would interest officials in Saudi Arabia.

Sahni posted a snippet from the interview where Hearn tells host Ariel Helwani "The