There are few better men to have in your corner ahead of your pro boxing debut than Mike Tyson. Former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou has exactly that, with Tyson helping him prepare for his upcoming match against Tyson Fury.
On a recent episode of his podcast, Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, Tyson backed Ngannou, pointing out that the Cameroonian fighter is much better than fans seem to believe.
Mike Tyson Says Fans Are Underestimating Francis Ngannou’s Boxing
“This is what you have to look [at] when you think about him fighting Tyson Fury — Conor McGregor went 11 rounds or 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather, the greatest fighter of his generation, if not all-time. If that can happen, why can’t he give Tyson a capable fight?
Floyd Mayweather is the greatest fighter in the world as far as technique and style. So why doesn’t he have a chance if McGregor did well and did a great account of himself? Everybody respects him for his effort. Nobody said, ‘He’s a b****.’ No one is saying that.”
Francis Ngannou, like Conor McGregor, will enter the boxing ring with a stellar MMA career behind him. Like McGregor, Ngannou is best known for his terrifying knockout ability.
In fact, Francis Ngannou boasts the world record for the hardest punch on the planet. Tyson claims he was genuinely impressed by Ngannou’s boxing acumen, and is not ruling out the possibility of a knockout victory for “The Predator.”
“We worked out yesterday and I saw a lot of good qualities. He pretty much just needs to shake off some of the cobwebs and then it’s full speed ahead. You learn pretty quick, too, which I was really impressed with.”
Ngannou agrees with the assessment. He knows that he must sharpen his boxing skills in order to land a fight-ending blow, and believes Mike Tyson will be the man to help him develop those skills.
“If I land a bomb on Tyson Fury, I think the lights turn off for him. But now the problem is how to sharpen the weapon properly to land that bomb, because it’s good to have a bomb, but the great Teddy Atlas always says: Delivery system. You have to have a proper delivery system.
That’s something that’s always stuck in my mind. You have to have a bomb, that’s cool, but how to have a good delivery system to aim and shoot [is more important], and that’s why Mike Tyson is here.”
