Mike Tyson believes that Francis Ngannou will be more competitive against WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury than what most people believe.
Ngannou recently hired Tyson to serve as head trainer and help Ngannou prepare for his boxing debut against Fury, which is set to take place on October 28th in Saudi Arabia. The contest will be contested under professional rules, and Fury’s WBC world heavyweight title will not be at stake. However, the contest has the WBC's full support after the sanctioning body ruled that Fury did all that he could to secure himself a title defence.
Fury failed to secure an undisputed world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk despite protracted negotiations conducted publicly. Despite Usyk agreeing to the relevant financials regarding a showdown for April 29th, talks collapsed as the heavyweight pair couldn't agree to terms regarding purse splits for any possible rematches in the future.
A provisional offer had been sent to Anthony Joshua for a possible September early last month, but that offer was swiftly rejected in favour of a fight against Dillian Whyte on August 12th. However, that will no longer happen against Whyte on the date in question, and a replacement opponent is being sought following a failed drugs test on the behalf of Whyte.
Ultimately Fury believed that he had explored all possible options to secure himself a title defence, and last month, Fury, Frank Warren, Top Rank and Ngannou confirmed that a heavyweight will take place in October.
Mike Tyson, feels that Ngannou has significant potential and will provide a more challenging fight to Fury than most people and observers believe.
“He’s had many professional fights, but he’s never experienced a professional boxing match,” Tyson told First Take. “But by working with him yesterday, he has the aptitude, and I see a good future in this life. It’s not going to be as one-sided as people think it is. I was speaking with Francis once he came in and I asked him ‘Are you sore today?’, and he said ‘No’.”
“That was a big mistake. But, we’re going to work and we’re going to exert everything he has for this particular match. I definitely believe that it’s going to be a tougher fight than anyone thinks.”
