Tyson Fury has expressed his disappointment that Mike Tyson is helping prepare Francis Ngannou for their boxing-MMA crossover fight next month. A fight between WBC world heavyweight champion Fury, 35, and former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, 37, has been in the works for over a year.
The pair teased a fight in April last year following Fury’s knockout win over Dillian Whyte, with Cameroonian MMA star Ngannou hopping into the ring afterward. And with Anthony Joshua or a unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk not possible for Fury at present, the crossover fight was made for Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia.
But helping Ngannou prepare for his boxing debut is none other than boxing legend, and former heavyweight champion, Tyson, 57. Tyson is arguably boxing’s most devastating hitter ever, alongside Deontay Wilder, and Iron Mike has been giving Ngannou tips ahead of his bout with the undefeated Fury.
The Gypsy King hasn’t tasted defeat in his professional career, boasting a 30-0-1 record, with the one draw coming in the first fight of his heavyweight title trilogy with Wilder. But the news of Tyson training Ngannou has disappointed Fury.
The Brit was named after Tyson and Fury says the American’s involvement is “sad”. He told on Sky Sports: “The man that I am named after, a legend, has to go against me and then come out as a loser, having lost to a man who was named after him. I think that it’s sad and I think that he should be in my corner, not the opposing corner, but business is business and I understand that it’s strictly business.”
Fury isn’t concerned that Tyson’s teaching will pose a threat to his perfect professional boxing record, though. “No matter what he teaches this fella, no matter how much boxing training he does, everyone has got a plan until they get punched in the face,” Fury said. “And I’m not sure who said that, but that is true. They’ve all got a plan until they get smacked in the mouth.”
The boxing world still holds out hope of a heavyweight unification fight – but Fury says a clash with Usyk will not happen if the Ukrainian demands a large some. Fury himself has issued a £400million-plus demand to take on Usyk. “Has it ever been my priority? Did I ever say I wanted undisputed? It’s always been some other little b**** dream,” Fury told Fight Hub TV.
“I’ve got Francis Ngannou to deal with. Should the other little sausage want to fight for the undisputed, and if he’s willing to take a small percentage then we might be able to make it happen. But if he wants a large bag? Not happening. Him [Usyk] and his team were s***houses! They get offered the fight at Wembley, and we moved on. That was it. Now we’re fighting Francis Ngannou, who is stepping up to the plate.”