'People don't understand' – Francis Ngannou makes bold prediction for Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson after training with boxing legend

23/08/2024 17:47

Francis Ngannou has made his prediction on Mike Tyson’s clash with Jake Paul, and he thinks there’s no substitute for experience.

The former undisputed heavyweight champion returns to the ring on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas against the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Tyson recently celebrated his 58th birthday while Paul is in his athletic prime at 27.

Yet Ngannou, who trained with Tyson ahead of his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury last December, believes his former coach still has enough left in his locker to beat Paul.

“I think Tyson will still beat his a**,” he told assembled media in Washington DC including talkSPORT.com.

Several medical professionals have come out and warned ‘Iron Mike’ about the potential health implications he faces by returning to the ring against a man 31 years his junior.

Senior Lecturer in Medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, Stephen Hughes, claims that as Tyson is an older man and a recovering alcoholic, he is at an increased risk of suffering subdural haematoma (brain bleed) and strokes.

Meanwhile, world-renowned fitness expert and former Chelsea, Leeds United and England physio Dave Hancock insisted it could be ‘catastrophic’ for his health.

But Ngannou doesn’t have the same concerns.

Asked what sort of condition Tyson is in at his advanced age, Ngannou replied: “He’s definitely not as he was when he was young.

“But when he moves around and shows you something, I’m like, ‘What the hell is this?’

“So I think that is something that people don’t understand about Mike Tyson, his footwork is still there.

“He can move from your left to your right in the blink of an eye.”

Tyson vs Paul has received a great deal of backlash from members of the boxing fraternity for taking a fight with a man who turned over as a professional boxer 12 years before he was even born.

Responding to the critics during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT’s Gareth A. Davies, Paul said: "I think it's disrespectful to Mike, first and foremost.

"And then I would say to them, 'Get in the ring with him'.

“If Mike wants to fight, then Mike wants to fight. If he wants to make it a pro fight then, 'Okay!'

"I wanna fight Mike Tyson, that's legendary. It's an honour to be in the ring with him.

“And if he wants the fight to be a pro fight then, 'Okay, let's do it'."