Tyson Fury must be at his elusive best against Francis Ngannou or risk serious injury, according to boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.
‘Gypsy King’ has signed up for what many people believe is a lucrative mismatch with the former UFC champion who will be making his boxing debut in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Ngannou is known for his knockout power and is currently working with heavyweight icon Mike Tyson to make it translate to the squared circle.
Jones Jr, who has held world titles in four different weight classes during his glittering career, is a fan of the match-up and believes Ngannou has a genuine chance of pulling off an upset due to his scary power.
“You have to love Fury versus Ngannou,” he told Sporting Post.
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“Everybody else is doing it, why can’t he? It’s an interesting fight. If Ngannou hits you it could be fatal. He can punch and if he catches you right, he can be a problem. He hasn’t had any pro boxing experience, but he does have fighting experience and he knows how to punch.
“So, fighting experience, he knows how to punch, and Dewey Cooper and Mike Tyson are training him – they are going to put him in position to land that one shot he needs. And in boxing, guess what, it only takes one.”
The 54-year-old believes ‘Iron Mike’ being in Ngannou’s corner could be key on fight night.
“Mike Tyson will try to turn Francis Ngannou into a wrecking machine, that’s what he needs to be and why he probably brought Tyson in,” Jones Jr added.
“You can’t stand outside and box Tyson Fury, he’s going to kill you, so you got to go in there and try and wreck him and if you don’t, you’re going to lose.
“In a 12-round boxing match, there’s no way you can beat Fury. He knows too much and that’s what he does, so you have got to turn into a Mike Tyson style wrecking ball.”
Amazingly, Jones Jr is still competing despite being in his mid-fifties.
The 66-10 fighter last fought in April when he lost an eight-round majority decision to former UFC lightweight champion Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.
Prior to that, he hadn’t fought professionally since 2018 and was only seen in the ring when he welcomed Tyson out of his 15-year retirement for a lucrative exhibition bout.
The youngest heavyweight champion in history is happily retired once again, but Roy Jones Jr plans to continue his Hall of Fame career for a little bit longer.
