For a while now, we’ve heard how Mike Tyson may climb on board Team-Ngannou and train the former UFC heavyweight champion for Ngannou’s big (as in big-money) fight with current WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury. Now it’s official – “Iron Mike” will train Ngannou, and he will be in his corner in Saudi Arabia on October 28th.
Tyson will not be Ngannou’s sole trainer, with the rest of the team yet to be announced, but make no mistake about it, Tyson will be the most scrutinised member of the team. If Ngannou wins (shockingly), Tyson will likely receive a good amount of praise. If Ngannou loses (which will not be a shock at all), it’s possible the critics will be all over Tyson.
The October fight, seen by many as a cash-grab on the part of Fury and not too much more, with these people looking at the fight as one big mismatch, does now, with the involvement of Tyson, have an added dimension to it. The fight now has extra intrigue. Tyson has never trained an MMA fighter before, in fact, Tyson has never trained anyone before – the 57 year old stating in a 2022 interview on his ‘Hot Boxin” podcast, that he doesn’t have “that kind of patience,” that he is “not gonna wake up every morning to get this guy to wake up and make sure he is running and doing the exercises and all that stuff.”
But now Tyson has signed on for the formidable task of getting Ngannou into the kind of fighting shape – boxing shape – to defeat the best big man on the planet in Fury.
Tyson is relishing the challenge:
“It’s no secret I back Ngannou 100 percent in this face-off of champions,” Tyson said. “He has one hard punch, and when it lands, it’s game over. I am looking forward to working with Ngannou and supporting his transition from the octagon to the boxing ring. He isn’t a combat novice, he is a world champion.”
Doubtless some will see this as nothing much more than a publicity stunt, but who knows, maybe Tyson can indeed add some elements to Ngannou’s game? Certainly, Ngannou will need all the help he can get if he’s to have any chance at all against Fury.
Naturally, Ngannou is thrilled to have Tyson, his “idol,” working with him:
“Bringing Mike Tyson into my training camp is one of the best decisions I can make to prepare for Tyson Fury,” Ngannou said. “His experience and boxing IQ will be important to honing my technique under his guidance to win this super fight.”
So, does the involvement of Mike Tyson make YOU feel Ngannou might just have a little bit of a chance come October 28???