Mike Tyson has revealed that he would ‘like to’ train Francis Ngannou ahead of his exhibition boxing match against Tyson Fury. MMA star Ngannou will make his boxing debut when he takes on the WBC heavyweight champion in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Ngannou is undefeated in UFC and will take his reputation as a hard hitter into the ring with him when he faces the Gypsy King. UFC stars such as Alistair Overeem, Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Stipe Miocic have all suffered knockouts at the hands of Ngannou, but facing Fury will be a different ball game.
‘The Predator’ has already admitted that he will need some guidance before taking on the 6ft 9″ Brit and now it looks like the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ is ready to offer it to him.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, 36-year-old Ngannou said: “I think getting some advice or some training from Mike Tyson would be good. I also think of somebody like Lennox Lewis who could be good.
“I love his boxing style, very basic but very sharp and efficient. One-two [punches], all that stuff, classic but very good. Yes, one of those guys. We are definitely reaching out.”
Tyson’s offer of help is not his first. He initially gave Ngannou a lesson on how to fight Fury back in 2020.
The Gypsy King’s decision to take on the UFC star in a 10-round bout has not gone down well with some in the boxing world, with Fury expected to win easily. Carl Froch called the event an ‘absolute load of s***’.
But former unified heavyweight champion Tyson believes that Ngannou will have a chance because of his brutal hitting ability.
Speaking to ES News, Tyson said: “I think anything is possible. He has a hard punch,” and when asked if he would be up for coaching Ngannou, said added: “I would like to do that, yeah. That would be cool. I like that.”
A video of Tyson delivering a masterclass to Ngannou on how to fight Fury sees the 57-year-old explain how to try and exploit a weakness. Tyson says: “He punches long, when he punches like that, he punches long and you’ve got those short punches inside and in and around and boom, got to hit right here to the body. Watch how you hit him with the right uppercut.”
Ngannou turned down a lucrative contract with UFC that would have seen him become the highest-paid star of the sport to chase even bigger money in the world of boxing. And he could hardly start with anyone bigger than Fury.