Eddie Hearn was direct with his take on what took place in Saudi Arabia and how believes it can work to his advantage.

Tyson Fury claimed a split decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion and pro boxing debutant Francis Ngannou in their ESPN+/TNT Sport Pay-Per-View main event Saturday in Riyadh.

Boxing’s lineal and WBC heavyweight king was floored in round three and lost on the card of judge Ed Garner (95-94). Judges Alan Krebs (95-94) and Juan Carlos Pelayo (96-93) spared Fury his first defeat, though he was not spared the shame of his subpar performance.

“You have one guy who never boxed before and another who looked like he never boxed before,” Hearn told DAZN’s Claudia Trejos during an interview between fights on a Matchroom Boxing show in Cancun, Mexico. “A complete novice, in everyone’s view, beat Tyson Fury. Ngannou won that fight. He just beat the lineal heavyweight champion, as crazy as that sounds to say." 

Morecambe, England’s Fury (34-0-1, 24KOs) was a -1000 favorite or greater with most sportsbooks in his scheduled ten-round bout that wasn’t even sanctioned by the WBC, whose title he has held since February 2020. Ngannou more than held his own early and sent shockwaves through the sports world after a left hook floored Fury late in the third round.

“I watched it back, didn’t even look like a big shot,” suggested Hearn. “I don’t know if his resistance his gone.”

The novelty fight came with the promise of a signed deal for an undisputed heavyweight clash later this year. Fury reportedly agreed to terms for a targeted December 23 showdown versus unified WBA, IBF and WBO titlist Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14KOs), who was ringside and in disbelief when he saw Fury hit the deck in round three.

The announced decision provided a sense of relief for the pair of unbeaten heavyweight champs, who met in the center of the ring after the fight to lay the foundation for their own planned collision.

That’s if the fight still takes place, Many have doubts that the first undisputed heavyweight championship of the 21st century will move forward. Among the skeptics is Hearn, who suggested that his star heavyweight, former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua could easily enter the mix.

There were previously talks of a Fury-Joshua all-UK heavyweight championship when both held all of the divisional real estate. Those plans were torched when Fury was ordered to enter a contractually-bound trilogy clash versus Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42KOs), with whom he drew in December 2018 and stopped in the seventh round of their February 2020 rematch. Fury survived two knockdowns to knock out Wilder in the eleventh round of their October 2021 thriller in Las Vegas.

By that point, Joshua (26-3, 23KOs) was a two-time former titlist after he conceded his unified crown to Usyk just two weeks prior to Fury-Wilder III.

Joshua came up short in his rematch versus Usyk last August but has since won two in a row. There have been talks of a possible Joshua-Wilder showdown that was to have been paired up with Fury-Usyk, though those plans long ago went sideways and with no real path to the battle of former titlists making its way to the ring.

Matchroom is working on a plan for Joshua to return to the ring either December 23 or in early 2024. His team now believes there are two high profile options in place.

“Forget Fury-Usyk; Ngannou just beat him,” noted Hearn, who remains unconvinced the long-discussed championship sees the light of day. “You got to give the rematch or let AJ end Fury’s career. Six rounds is all we need there.

“If Fury has to fight Usyk, we’ll fight Ngannou. All we need are three rounds. I’ve already messaged people about it. Easy fight for me to make. I know the demand for AJ versus Ngannou is huge. I have to speak to AJ. He wants to regain the heavyweight title but… we need just six rounds for Fury, three rounds for Ngannou.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox