Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson could help prepare Francis Ngannou to shock the world against his namesake, Tyson Fury.
The October 28 crossover bout set for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been billed as an exercise in finding out who is ‘the baddest man on the planet’ – but most boxing fans still reserve that title for Tyson.
‘Iron Mike’ was feared in and out of the ring, and blasted his way to a world title at just 20 years old, knocking out 26 of his 28 opponents on the way there.
He knows all about power, then – and, speaking to ES News, gave Ngannou a chance due to the knockouts he has produced in his MMA career.
“I think anything is possible. He has a hard punch you know.”
As for Ngannou’s plan to reach out to either himself or Lennox Lewis for support ahead of the contest, Tyson is certainly in.
“I would like to do that, yeah. That would be cool. I like that.”
The crossover contest has been met with mostly negativity from boxing fans and pundits, but there’s little doubt that it will generate intrigue and money when the time comes.
Fury has been given ‘special permission’ by the WBC to step away from his duties as world heavyweight champion, but the fight will count on his record as an official bout.
The boxer has remained tight-lipped on facing Ngannou following the announcement, but will be as confident as the bookmakers that it will be a relatively easy run out for him.
Should he win as expected, fans will look for him to return to the sport and re-open talks to make an undisputed fight in the heavyweight division.