Mike Tyson knows a thing or two about what it takes to knock another man out, and the former undisputed heavyweight champion is backing Francis Ngannou to do just that when he faces Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Ex-UFC champion Ngannou has been preparing for the Middle East dust-up with special training sessions from Iron Mike himself and the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ is predicting a shock result thanks to the African’s devastating punching power.
Speaking to the Daily Mail (as per Boxing Scene), Tyson said: “I am helping Ngannou. I am learning what he is able to do. He’s able to do so much more than I anticipated. He has what it takes to knockout anything or anybody standing in his way. Once he lands a punch on Tyson Fury’s jaw he is going to knock him out too. Nobody can survive that.”
Tyson has been left impressed by Ngannou’s boxing abilities despite having to crossover from MMA to take on Fury. Now the 57-year-old all-time great is trying to pass on his tools and experience to cause an upset.
“My philosophy for fighting people and knocking them out was just put as much pressure on them as I could,” Tyson said. “It was just pressure, pressure, pressure. Make them make mistakes and then counter with a knockout. Simple as that.”
WBC heavyweight champion Fury has been criticised for agreeing to face Ngannou in a non-title crossover boxing match instead of defending his belt against Oleksandr Usyk.
But despite competing in a different era of the sport, Tyson has refused to criticise the Gypsy King for his decision and understands why the Englishman would chase such s lucrative pay day in the Middle East.
Tyson said: “He’s taking advantage of his celebrity status. Why does he always have to jump to the boxing administration? Can they give him time to make some money and put some bank roll away?
“He’s making some money for his family. ‘Let me do what I need to do and then when it’s time to box I will box. Boxing people need to keep out of my personal business.’ Fury’s not the all-time great but he’s one of the all-time greats. He’s really high up. He can do greatness right now.
“He’s always going to bring a good night of boxing, fight hard. You’ve got to try and hit him with a shot to knock him cold out because he always gets back up and fights hard.”