27 May 2020

‘Really good chance Dillian Whyte v Francis Ngannou will happen’, says promoter Eddie Hearn

Heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte could take on MMA fighter Francis Ngannou this year, according to the Brit’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Whyte is expected to take on Alexander Povetkin in August when boxing begins to return behind closed doors at Matchroom’s ’Fight Camp’, which will be staged in the garden of Hearn’s headquarters.

Ngannou (right) destroyed Jairzinho Rozenstruik by first round knockout at UFC 249 (SIPA USA/PA Images)

But there has also been growing talk during the lockdown about a crossover bout between Whyte and Ngannou, something the promoter is now seriously considering.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: "I never really thought we would take this too seriously, but in the last week we have to take this seriously.

"The aim for Dillian Whyte is to become a world boxing champion, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Whyte against Ngannou towards the end of this year.

“Obviously we know [Alexander] Povetkin is next, but whether it's October, November, December...I'm going to be reaching out to Dana White and saying: 'Tell me how this works? Can we actually do this? Are we doing it in a ring? Are we doing it in a cage? Are we doing one round of each?'.”

Social media has played a huge part in talking this potential fight up and bringing it to the attention of the matchmakers.

And now Hearn has revealed organisers of major events have begun asking questions about putting it on.

“It's really got a lot of momentum and a lot of promise. I think there's a really good chance it could happen. There's not just interest online, there is huge interest everywhere for that fight," he added.

"When I first started discussing it, it was just something that had been mentioned. Fans of both disciplines have always said 'Whyte against Ngannou is a cracker'.

"I've started to receive a lot of interest from numerous people about staging that fight now. I think it does colossal numbers. It's the first real, genuine crossover fight. I know we had Floyd and we had Conor, but this is a different kind of fight. This is a different kind of experience. This is brutality at its absolute rawest."

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