"Eat his belief" - Boxing great Teddy Atlas tells Israel Adesanya the likely path to success for Tyson Fury against Francis Ngannou
Teddy Alast tells Israel Adesanya that Tyson Fury has many ways to deal with Francis Ngannou. With the highly publicized boxing match between WBC world heavyweight champion and former UFC heavyweight kingpin mere hours away, most fans and pundits see the bout as an easy win for 'The Gypsy King.'
According to legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, it is up to Fury to decide how the fight unfolds. During a recent segment of FREESTYLEBENDER with Israel Adesanya, the 67-year-old opined that Fury has two ways to deal with 'The Predator.'
Explaining the rationale behind his assessment, he said:
"There is two ways this can go. He can walk him down, and then just say, 'Hello Francis, welcome to my world', and just walk him down behind the jab [and slip his big shots]... Just take it to him and eat his heart, and eat his belief, you know take that away from him. Sometimes the safest place to be with a dangerous puncher is in close, where he can't detonate that."
The pugilistic expert added that alternatively, Fury could also use his long range to keep 'The Predator' at a distance, ultimately forcing him to make mistakes and lure him into devastating counters.
According to him, Fury will handily defeat his opponent in Riyadh in whatever fashion he chooses:
"I think this is up to Fury, it's up to Fury how serious he is about it. [This is his world] Yes, it is."
Catch Teddy Atlas' comments below (3:10):
Israel Adesanya predicts Francis Ngannou to pull off a miracle against Tyson Fury
While most of the fight world sees Francis Ngannou as an easy win for Tyson Fury, former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes 'The Predator' will pull off a miracle at Riyadh.
When 'The Last Stylebender' met Ngannou ahead of his final faceoff with 'The Gypsy King,' he hinted that the Cameroonian-born fighter was going to get the upset against the heavyweight champion boxer during a media interaction.
According to Adesanya, Ngannou's perseverance against insurmountable odds en route to becoming a UFC champion is a testament to his ability to pull off the seemingly impossible:
"I've seen Francis make miracles happen. If you know his whole story, from Cameroon, working in sand mines... never give up, but to do what he's done, become the heavyweight champion of the world in the UFC; You can't deny this man's spirit... Tomorrow night, we are about to witness a miracle, I really believe so."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below (2:10):