Heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury is set to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing bout on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman recently spoke about his friend Ngannou's professional boxing debut in an interview with TMZ. Usman maintained that while 'The Predator' is new to boxing, he has immense knockout power which could come in clutch against Fury's experience.
Usman warned Fury:
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“Obviously, Francis is not a full-time boxer, so it’s not going to be different. The mechanics are going to be a little bit different but the one thing Francis has, God has blessed him with power. If he touches your head anywhere in this radius… it does not matter. If [Francis] touches you, you might not wake up, so I give him that chance for sure.
"When you’re talking about a drawn-out, 12-round boxing match, on paper, I don’t think Francis is as skilled or experienced to win that fight, but Francis has a great equaliser, and that is God-given power. If he touches you, you will go to sleep."
Kamaru Usman also mentioned that Ngannou has been toughened by various difficulties across his life and professional career and will not be fazed by the daunting challenge of boxing a champion on debut:
"If you haven’t noticed it by now, Francis is blessed with all the trials and tribulations that he’s gone through in his life, he is blessed to still be here standing right now, and to have a fight like this, of this magnitude, the biggest fight in the world. If they can promote this thing the right way, it’s an amazing fight.”
Check out his comments below:
Fury vs. Ngannou: Mike Tyson shows confidence in Francis Ngannou's ability to take on Tyson Fury
Legendary boxer Mike Tyson is part of Francis Ngannou's camp ahead of his showdown against Tyson Fury.
In a recent episode of Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson, 'Iron Mike' referenced Conor McGregor's one-off fight against Floyd Mayweather to justify Ngannou going up against Fury.
He 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?"
Mike Tyson also warned Tyson Fury of Ngannou's knockout power.
Check out his full comments below [48:35]: