WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is not concerned with Mike Tyson being the head trainer for Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou tabbed Tyson, a former undisputed heavyweight champion, to train him for the upcoming non-title fight on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
The former UFC champion is a tremendous underdog, as he makes his pro debut against the top heavyweight in the division.
Fury’s father John named him after Tyson – and now they find themselves in opposite corners.
While Fury has a lot of respect for Tyson, he believes the ‘head trainer factor’ will be irrelevant in the outome of the fight.
“Mike Tyson is a great guy. He is a living legend in sport. He is a living legend in boxing. He’s got a lot of knowledge on boxing, I think he will teach Francis a lot. But, I don’t [think] it would matter who trained Ngannou for this fight,” Fury told Daily Mail.
“He’s got to fight Tyson Fury and I’m not an easy opponent for anybody no matter who is training you. So yeah, everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the face. That’s exactly what’s going to happen to Ngannou when I fight him. He’s going to have this big plan and then he’s going to get punched in the face and it’s going to go all out the window.”
Ngannou, however, has praised the work that’s being accomplished in camp with Tyson as his side.
“Having Mike Tyson present just makes you realize what is happening. You know that you have a fight and obviously you are serious about it but it seems like there is something missing,” Ngannou said.
“You’re like ‘Ok I have a fight but what else do I need’. Then you have Mike Tyson and he’s basically like the biggest boxing figure. It makes me think ‘Oh man, this is serious, very very serious. It doesn’t get more serious than this’. That alone brings you a lot of motivation. Even when you’re tired, even when you’re done for the day, I’m like ‘Man one more. I want to do one more’. I’m like ‘I just want to be like that man’. So all that stuff, has helped me mentally already.
“Then of course, there is the technical aspect that he is bringing too. We all know how technical Mike Tyson was so obviously having his tips and hearing from him is very helpful for me. I won’t have his boxing style but I can definitely learn a lot from him.”