Ngannou Speaks On Fury And Jon Jones, Mike Tyson Warns Fury About Ngannou

Francis Ngannou has talked up his upcoming fight against Tyson Fury by expressing his belief that the bout will make a potential Jon Jones fight bigger. 

The former UFC heavyweight champion will make his boxing debut on October 28th, 2023, in a fight where he is seen as a massive underdog.

But in order to give himself the best chance of victory, Ngannou has sought the services of Mike Tyson as his trainer and cornerman.

The outcome of the boxing fight may have some bearing on Ngannou’s PFL debut, as a one-sided beating could hamper his confidence.

After all, Jones in comparison is doing well having become the heavyweight champion following his first-round-submission win over Ciryl Gane.

That led to increased calls on Ngannou and Jones to face each other. And even with Ngannou’s departure from the UFC, this could still happen later down the line. 

Ngannou On Jones

“I’m disappointed, too, but that fight is still possible. I think we both are down for it. I left the UFC but that doesn’t mean that this fight cannot happen,” Ngannou said 

Therefore, an Ngannou win would turn the spotlight back on Jones to see who is the best amongst the MMA heavyweights.

But even if Ngannou comes up short, the MMA fighter felt it was a no-lose situation due to the mass exposure that he would be receiving. His following comments confirmed as much.

“It will just make that fight bigger. Like, imagine me and Jon Jones fighting after the Tyson Fury fight, the one or the second one, it just gets that fight bigger and bigger. So that fight will always be there when both of us want to fight. Now, it’s a matter of our contractual situation,” Ngannou said

Tyson Warns Fury About Ngannou

Meanwhile, Mike Tyson has warned Tyson Fury that Francis Ngannou will pose a different threat when they meet in the ring.

Tyson has the chance to see Ngannou up-close-and-personal by virtue of being his trainer and cornerman for the upcoming fight.

As a result, Tyson has talked up Ngannou’s punching power as something that Fury needs to be aware of.

Mike Tyson would know a thing or two about such a thing, given that he was known for being a knockout artist. And that ultimately is something that could spell bad news for Fury.

“Tyson Fury got dropped by a small guy early in his career. [Francis] punches like God knows who, man. He’s an athlete, he moves quicker, works with his speed, and listen man, he only has to land one or two. Tyson’s never been in the ring with somebody that can punch this hard.

“He asked me to go all out aggression. He’s moving his head, he’s getting it together, and he’s determined to do this stuff for his country, his people, his patriotic pride. This is really interesting. I’m very excited about doing this,” Tyson

Ngannou’s Chances

Nevertheless, Tyson’s comments have to be read in light of the following. His words will no doubt have the impact of hyping up the fight, which will do wonders for the event.

In addition, given that Deontay Wilder could not knockout Fury despite dropping him numerous times during their trilogy, it is hard to see Ngannou doing that when he is making his boxing debut.

And to make matters even more difficult, Ngannou will not have the benefit of four-ounce gloves which will take away the sting from his punches. And that is without mentioning the fact that Fury will be throwing punches too.

But if he does pull off a win, then it would arguably be the biggest win of all time.

“That would be a bigger upset than Douglas-Tyson,” Tyson

Ultimately, it is up to Fury and Ngannou to deliver. But based on the history of MMA fighters who have crossed over into boxing, the odds are against Ngannou.

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz had demonstrated that. Despite putting in hardworking performances, they both ended up getting beaten.

McGregor suffered a tenth-round-stoppage loss to Floyd Mayweather. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz suffered a unanimous-decision loss at the hands of Jake Paul.

But one thing heavyweight boxing has shown is that one punch can change everything. And Ngannou will be hoping that he has the capability to land it.