Exclusive: Mike Tyson backing Francis Ngannou to do 'very well' against Tyson Fury - 'He's a real power puncher'
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Published 13/09/2023 at 15:04 GMT
Legendary former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is training Francis Ngannou ahead of his boxing showdown with Tyson Fury in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ on October 28. The two worlds of boxing and UFC will come together in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Tyson believes it would be foolish to write off Ngannou's chances. More pressure is on The Gypsy King, who admits that defeat would be unthinkable.
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou face off during a Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou Press Conference at HERE on September 07, 2023 in London, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Mike Tyson is backing Francis Ngannou to surprise a few people when he takes on Tyson Fury in their heavyweight fight.
Former UFC heavyweight star Ngannou heads into the ring to face Fury on October 28 - exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office in the UK and Ireland - and Tyson is quietly confident that the French-Cameroonian fighter has what it takes to disrupt the current WBC champion.
"I think he's going to do very well, yes,” Tyson said in an exclusive interview with Eurosport Netherlands.
"It's all experience in fighting, he just has to remember not to use his feet, which he never really did actually.
"He's a real power puncher, really fast for a big guy at 260 [pounds]. I think he's going to do better than most people believe."
When quizzed about being in the opposite corner to a fighter, in Fury, who is named after him, Tyson replied: “This is business and he understands."
He told TNT Sports: “He needs to try to get close. If he does get close, I know it’s boxing, but use his wrestling strength to rough him up a bit, throw him around a bit, try and impose his strength. It’s easier said than done when you’re facing Fury, who’s a monster of a man.
“If there’s distance at all created, Tyson Fury will just... I mean it’ll just be a field day. Get close, crowd him, use your strength and pray to god that you can land the luckiest punch you’ve ever thrown in your life."
Defeat for Fury is an unthinkable prospect, and the 34-year-old says he would class losing to Ngannou as a humiliation and admits to leaving "no stone unturned".
“If I lose to a No. 1 contender or another champion, then people would say, 'oh, he lost to another champion.' But if I lost to an MMA guy, I'm never going to be able to show my face in public again. There's going to be ridicule and people are going to chuck it in my face forever," he said.
“There's more riding on this than there ever has been before. Whether the media wants to take it as a joke or not, make no mistake, Tyson Fury will leave no stone unturned and I will come in at my fittest and strongest I've ever been to beat this man.
“If I'm not, and I get knocked out, I want you all to laugh at me. That's what I want, because I would've deserved it.
“The man's a machine and I'll give 100% respect.”
How to watch Fury v Ngannou in the UK on TV
Fury v Ngannou can be watched in the UK & Ireland through BT, Virgin Media TV and Sky or online via the web or the TNT Sports Box Office App. You do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.
Virgin Media TV customers in the UK: customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View Live Events rail
BT TV customers can go to channel 494 and pay using their remote control.
Viewers wanting to watch the fight online should visit www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice and follow instructions to subscribe and watch on the web or on the TNT Sports Box Office App, customers can choose to watch on the big screen using Google Chromecast and Apple Airplay. EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 customers watching online or via the TNT Sports Box Office App can choose to add the payment to their mobile bill.
Sky customers can purchase TNT Sports Box Office on channel 490 via their remote control or via https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt
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TNT Sports Box Office hosts some of the biggest fights, the biggest boxers and the best fighters from UFC and WWE. You don’t need to have a TNT Sports subscription to watch on TNT Sports Box Office.
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