Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou is gearing up for his first-ever professional boxing match next month. He will take on current WBC champion Tyson Fury for which he has started training under the iconic Mike Tyson. However. ‘Iron’ is not his first boxing trainer as ‘The Predator’ has previously trained under another legendary coach.
Francis Ngannou has proved himself to be one of the best heavyweight strikers in MMA. Now, he wants to show the world that he can get things done inside the squared circle too. But started training in boxing a couple of years ago and it was not Mike Tyson. Let us take a look at his first boxing coach, Teddy Atlas.
Francis Ngannou trained with Teddy Atlas before training under Mike Tyson
Teddy Atlas is famous for training legendary boxers like Michael Moorer and Barry McGuigan. Moreover, he was also the first boxing trainer of Mike Tyson. In a video posted on his YouTube channel over two years ago, Atlas can be seen training Francis Ngannou for a trial period session. Ngannou impressed the legendary coach with his athleticism.
‘The Predator’ also impressed Teddy Atlas with his ability to maintain balance. Similarly, he even asked the Atlas to be his coach for the upcoming fight against Tyson Fury, but later rescinded the offer. This apparently left an unpleasant taste in the 67-year-old trainer’s mouth. He went on to express his disappointment with Ngannou’s team for how they handled the situation.
Teddy Atlas was disappointed with the lack of transparency from Ngannou’s end
Francis Ngannou’s team initially extended an invitation to Teddy Atlas to provide training for the upcoming boxing match. However, upon his return from the meeting with Ngannou, Atlas was informed that his services were no longer required. Furthermore, he was made aware that Mike Tyson had been selected as his replacement. Atlas expressed disappointment regarding the lack of transparency exhibited by Ngannou’s camp.
It appears that the possibility of Atlas’ valuable input being incorporated into Ngannou’s pre-fight preparations has diminished. Nevertheless, ‘The Predator’ is not lacking in expert guidance. It is primarily due to the involvement of one of the most accomplished heavyweight boxers of all time, as he prepares himself to take on the WBC champion, Tyson Fury.
Teddy Atlas helped Mike Tyson develop as a boxer since ‘Iron’ was 12 years old. However, they had a fallout due to the latter’s reckless behavior, which resulted in Atlas pulling a gun on Tyson. However, there is no bad blood between them. Now we will have to wait and see how Francis Ngannou performs under the guidance of Tyson in the coming weeks.