Eddie Hearn still can’t help but laugh at those that believe Anthony Joshua and his longtime promoter breathed a collective sigh of relief when Joseph Parker upset Deontay Wilder on December 23.

Some of Joshua’s detractors contend that the former IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion never really wanted to fight Wilder in the long-awaited showdown that was supposed to take place next if Joshua and Wilder won their respective fights on the “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view show at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua stopped Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin in the main event that night, but Joshua-Wilder was already ruined because Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) defeated an uninspired Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) by unanimous decision in the 12-round co-feature.

Hearn expressed their disappointment Monday after the fight that replaced Joshua-Wilder, Joshua against Francis Ngannou, was officially announced during a press conference in London.

“You still read the comments like, ‘Oh, AJ and Eddie were so happy that Wilder lost,’ ” a smirking Hearn told DAZN’s team of announcers. “Are you mad? I mean, one, it was an absolute fortune. Number two, it was like, and I know Wilder was poor that night, but you saw why we were so confident in that fight. We truly believed that was a great matchup for us. And Wilder, even as poor as he was, can still beat anyone on any given night.”

Once Wilder, a hard-hitting former WBC champ, lost to Parker, Hearn quickly turned his attention to Joshua fighting Ngannou, whose chances Hearn belittled before the former UFC heavyweight champion fought Tyson Fury.

Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh agreed to financially back Joshua-Ngannou and it was put together soon thereafter. Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) and Ngannou (0-1) – who lost a surprisingly competitive, 10-round split decision to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) on October 28 in Riyadh – will meet March 8 in another 10-round pay-per-view main event at Kingdom Arena.

“So, you know, after the Fury-Ngannou fight, I remember, you know, going back to my hotel room that night thinking that’s the fight – AJ against Ngannou,” Hearn said. “Look at the size of them. You imagine those two when they weigh in. Like they are two absolute, you know, atoms. And I think it’s the best fight. And, you know, straight after that fight December 23rd, when Wilder lost, myself and Frank [Smith] went straight to [Alalshikh] and he said to us, ‘What are we gonna do?’

“He said, ‘What’s the biggest fight we can possibly make?’ And I said, ‘Mate, there’s only one, Joshua-Ngannou.’ And, you know, as the magic man [does], bang! It’s up and running. And like, tell me a bigger fight in the heavyweight division, outside of Fury-Usyk. There isn’t one. And when these two come together and that bell rings, it’s gonna be a sight to behold in Riyadh.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.