'Tyson Fury is a tough fight' - Coach admits Francis Ngannou will need serious training to beat the Gypsy King in a Boxing match

Francis Ngannou's striking coach Dewey Cooper acknowledges Tyson Fury as the best heavyweight boxer and admits that Ngannou will need specialized boxing training to be able to compete against him. Francis Ngannou has spoken about an eventual transition to boxing on multiple occasions. Cooper's remarks came after a recent social media altercation between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.

Dewey Cooper has shed light on the differences between specific training regimens required for boxing and MMA fights during an interview with RT Sport MMA. Coach Cooper reasoned that Francis Ngannou has the athleticism and knockout power to compete against a credentialed boxer like Tyson Fury. However, he admitted that 'The Gypsy King's boxing ability is unparalleled and Ngannou will need to commit time and make serious changes to his training if the fight were to happen.

"Francis (Ngannou) could definitely box any Boxer out there. However, in order to beat Tyson, it would take serious training. We have to change training up a lot because Boxing training is completely different from Mixed Martial Arts training...

Tyson Fury right now is the best Boxer in the world. Tyson Fury is difficult for any heavyweight because of the attributes - the speed, the Boxing ability, good defence, the confidence.. He is a real deal. Tyson is a tough fight for anybody in Boxing. BUT, Francis could definitely fight any heavyweight with time and amending the training a little bit," Dewey Cooper said.

During a recent visit to Hotboxin' podcast hosted by Mike Tyson, newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou expressed his desire to compete against elite boxers like Tyson Fury. The remark sparked a heated social media exchange as Fury dismissed Ngannou as 'easy work' in a tweet. Speculation about a potential crossover fight has been high among the combat sports community since the incident.

Check out: How long is Tyson Fury's reach?

Dewey Cooper believes Francis Ngannou's power belongs somewhere in the space

One of the primary reasons behind the intrigue surrounding Francis Ngannou's crossover fight with boxers is the knockout power possessed by the Cameroonian. Except for former champion Stipe Miocic, none of the UFC heavyweights were able to withstand Ngannou's power. Before his title fight rematch with Miocic, The Predator defeated four opponents in a combined 2 minutes and 42 seconds of cage time.

While talking about Francis Ngannou's scary knockout power in the same interview, Dewey Cooper reasoned that his pupil developed the power and physical strength through hardships endured earlier in his life:

"It is just something out of this world. It belongs somewhere in the space. It's unreal... The power came from the way he grew up in dirt his whole life, in those sand mines in Africa... Combined with his natural attributes and physicality, athletic ability... all this stuff, you create a very strong explosive, and powerful being," Dewey Cooper said.