Francis Ngannou coach Eric Nicksick believes Mike Tyson is bringing the best out of ‘The Predator’ ahead of his highly anticipated pro boxing debut next month.
On October 28, the former UFC heavyweight world champion will strap on the eight-ounce gloves for a clash with one of the sport’s biggest stars, Tyson Fury. But before the pair heads to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ngannou is getting some advice from legendary pugilist ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson training Francis Ngannou for his fight with Tyson Fury pic.twitter.com/1kv4cA5T3S
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 31, 2023
In recent months, multiple video clips showing Ngannou and Tyson training together have gone viral. During a recent interview with SHAK MMA, Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick revealed that much of Ngannou’s work with Tyson has been for promotional purposes, but that hasn’t stopped the former unified heavyweight world champion from pushing ‘The Predator’ to his absolute limit during their few-and-far-between training sessions.
“It’s more a promotional angle, but anytime you get Mike involved, it’s good,” Nicksick revealed. “It’s good to have. Mike came in and did some work with him the first two days in Vegas and then they were just out in L.A. Mike got in some work with him out there. Obviously, due to proximity, he’s not going to be there full-time doing a lot of the training, but when you have a guy like Mike, it’s an unbelievable experience.
“Not only the wealth and knowledge but the intensity. Like, you feel the intensity when that dude’s in the room. You’re like, ‘Holy hell.’ It’s like, ‘Bro, what have we got going on today?’ And here’s the great thing: usually in areas where Francis will be, ‘Alright, I’m good. I’m tired. I’m done’ or whatever, but he would push through these workouts because I know he didn’t want to disappoint Mike.
“Mike would be like, ‘Nope, we got one more. We’re doing this cardio. We’re doing these pushups’ and every time I felt like Francis had met his breaking point, he would look over at Mike Tyson and be like, ‘No, I gotta do it. I gotta do one more. I gotta get through it.’ I love that mentality and Mike has been really pulling the best out of Francis every time he’s around.”
Francis Ngannou will go into his boxing debut in unfamiliar territory, sitting as a three-to-one underdog against the undefeated WBC titleholder. But with the kind of power that ‘The Predator’ possesses and guidance from one of the best to ever do it, anything could happen when the two heavyweight behemoths meet in Riyadh this October.
