Mike Tyson has no issue with Tyson Fury fighting for the money ahead of the battle between the ‘Gypsy King’ and Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Tyson is one of the best boxers of all time and is preparing Ngannou as the fight in the Middle East creeps closer.
Fury has attracted criticism for agreeing to fight the former UFC star, with the colourful 35-year-old admitting he’s competing solely for the money.
Yet Tyson has no issue with that.
“No! He’s taking advantage of his celebrity status,” he told the Daily Mail when asked if the Brit was wrong to prioritse the cash.
“Why does he always have to jump to the boxing administration?
“Can they give him time to make some money and put some bank roll away?
“He’s making some money for his family. ‘Let me do what I need to do and then when it’s time to box I will box. Boxing people need to keep out of my personal business.’
“Fury’s not the all-time great but he’s one of the all-time greats.
“He’s really high up. He can do greatness right now.
“He’s always going to bring a good night of boxing, fight hard.
“You’ve got to try and hit him with a shot to knock him cold out because he always gets back up and fights hard.”
Tyson knows all about the pressure of big fights.
The 57-year-old beat many top boxers throughout his career, including British star Frank Bruno.
However, it’s his victory over Larry Holmes all the way back in 1988 that he savours the most.
Mike Tyson has no issue with Tyson Fury fighting for the money ahead of the battle between the ‘Gypsy King’ and Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Tyson is one of the best boxers of all time and is preparing Ngannou as the fight in the Middle East creeps closer.
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Fury has attracted criticism for agreeing to fight the former UFC star, with the colourful 35-year-old admitting he’s competing solely for the money.
Yet Tyson has no issue with that.
“No! He’s taking advantage of his celebrity status,” he told the Daily Mail when asked if the Brit was wrong to prioritse the cash.
“Why does he always have to jump to the boxing administration?
“Can they give him time to make some money and put some bank roll away?
“He’s making some money for his family. ‘Let me do what I need to do and then when it’s time to box I will box. Boxing people need to keep out of my personal business.’
“Fury’s not the all-time great but he’s one of the all-time greats.
“He’s really high up. He can do greatness right now.
“He’s always going to bring a good night of boxing, fight hard.
“You’ve got to try and hit him with a shot to knock him cold out because he always gets back up and fights hard.”
Tyson knows all about the pressure of big fights.
The 57-year-old beat many top boxers throughout his career, including British star Frank Bruno.
However, it’s his victory over Larry Holmes all the way back in 1988 that he savours the most.
The reason? Because Holmes had previously beaten the great Muhammed Ali, who had long been a source of inspiration for Tyson.
“Larry Holmes,” he said.
“I wanted to knock him out because he beat up Muhammed Ali eight years earlier in Las Vegas.
“I was crying about the fight and I told myself I was going to avenge Ali during my career.”
Ngannou is the big underdog ahead of the fight with Fury.
For the Brit, that brings added pressure as he looks to continue his unbeaten streak in the sport.
Tyson knows all about that and, when quizzed directly on the subject, he added: “The most pressure I ever felt was the first time I fought for the title.
“It was against Trevor Berbick in 1986.
“There was a massive amount of pressure on me for that fight.
“But, then I realised this. Pressure is a privilege.
“To have that pressure is a privilege. Not many people have that privilege in their life and they may live to be 90.
“So, I look at it as a privilege to be under that sort of pressure.
“I am helping Ngannou. I am learning what he is able to do. He’s able to do so much more than I anticipated.
“He has what it takes to knockout anything or anybody standing in his way.
“Once he lands a punch on Tyson Fury’s jaw he is going to knock him out too. Nobody can survive that.”
Fury and Ngannou will do battle in the ring on October 28.
The fight will take place in Saudi Arabia, with the nation looking for more sporting prominence amid their involvement in football and golf.