"I'm not easily impressed, but..." - Mike Tyson delves into Francis Ngannou's progress as a boxer after training the former UFC champion
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou vacated his title and left the promotion in pursuit of greater autonomy over his professional career.
Eight months after his UFC exit, Ngannou is preparing to take on world boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a boxing match. For his boxing debut, he has the invaluable presence of the youngest heavyweight champion ever, Mike Tyson, in his corner.
Tyson and Ngannou have been training together for over a month and have formed a beautiful relationship that they hope will find fruition in boxing success against Fury. 'Iron Mike' took to Twitter to put to rest the speculation around Ngannou's boxing ability and who better to be the judge than the legend himself.
Mike Tyson wrote:
"I am not easily impressed, but @Francis_Ngannou knows how to box. THIS is what dedication looks like. #FuryNgannou #RiyadhSeason"
Check out his tweet below:
Francis Ngannou also spoke about the impact the training sessions with Mike Tyson have had on him. In an interview with TMZ, he singled out the power transition.
“Yeah, I think my feet is the most. You know, those footwork. Huge power transition. I think that’s really been amazing.”
Check out his full interview below:
Mike Tyson defends Francis Ngannou's ability to be competent against Tyson Fury
Mike Tyson has been a firsthand witness to Francis Ngannou's boxing training and continues to advocate for his ability.
In a recent episode of Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson, he referenced Conor McGregor's one-off boxing match against Floyd Mayweather in 2017. He claimed that Ngannou is more than capable of giving a fair fight to Fury, similar to McGregor's effort against Mayweather.
Tyson said:
“This is what you have to look [at] when you think about him fighting Tyson Fury — Conor McGregor went 11 rounds or 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather, the greatest fighter of his generation, if not all-time. If that can happen, why can’t he give Tyson a capable fight? Floyd Mayweather is the greatest fighter in the world as far as technique and style. So why doesn’t he have a chance if McGregor did well and did a great account of himself? Everybody respects him for his effort. Nobody said, ‘He’s a b****.’ No one is saying that.”
Francis Ngannou will take on Tyson Fury on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Check out Mike Tyson's full comments on YouTube below [48:35]: