Veteran trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas is convinced there is a legitimate path to victory for Francis Ngannou when he takes on Tyson Fury.
Ngannou, the former UFC champion, is set to challenge WBC heavyweight titlist Fury this Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight has been lampooned by some as a mismatch and cynical cash grab as it pits one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of this era against someone making his professional boxing debut.
Atlas, the legendary trainer, believes nevertheless that Ngannou has the ability to spring a few surprises on Fury on Saturday night.
“I’ve been in the ring with him,” Atlas said of Ngannou on his podcast, THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas, on Tuesday. “The tape is out there. It’s got millions of views. He had asked me to train him for one day, and I obliged. I was in Vegas, I went to his gym, and I trained him for one day. I saw firsthand, not only his power, which anyone could see and feel it up close, but I saw his athleticism and I saw that he was smart. He picked up things. He did. In a little short period, I showed him a few things, and he started picking them up.
“I saw the advancements that he made in the striking in the Stipe (rematch) when he won his UFC heavyweight belt against, at the time, the greatest heavyweight of all time. … When Ngannou fought Stipe … first of all, he had to be better, not just strong, but better to beat Stipe and he was better. He improved. He was better. So it shows you he learns, he evolves, he picks up things, he adds to his repertoire. He’s coachable.
“It could be lights out for Fury. And here’s the thing that goes with the ‘could.’ [Ngannou] has the power to hurt anyone, including Fury who has an unbelievable chin, who’s been dropped by the biggest puncher in Wilder a few times, and he’s gotten up. So he’s got a great chin and a great constitution, a great heart does Fury. Just great, just great. You have to applaud him for that. But Ngannou, I think, has shown stout toughness to himself also when he’s been tested, when he’s been on the floor and being threatened to be submitted and he hasn’t. That shows a resolve right there that you can keep the devil from the door and not give in to compromising yourself to submitting in any degree.”
Fury is also scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight. Championship in December or January but the exact date will likely depend on the outcome of his fight with Ngannou.
Atlas wonders if Fury will be in the right mindset given he is such a prohibitive favorite.
“It comes down to how serious did Fury take this event, this moneymaker,” Atlas said. “How serious was he? We saw some early pictures where he didn’t look great. He never looks like an Adonis. His body is not made up that way. He never looks like Hercules, but you know when he’s in shape and when he’s not in good shape. He didn’t look in good shape. I said to his manager, straight up, (he looks like) the Pillsbury Doughboy in the pictures that we have seen.
“He’s had a lot of time to get in shape since then and I haven’t seen any pictures of him recently, so I’m going to assume he’s in the right kind of shape, but the mind. Did he take this seriously or in a way the 90 percent of the people are taking it? ‘I should dominate. I should have no problem with the guy.’ If taking for granted that Ngannou is just being fed to the lions, he can get caught. He can have a surprise.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.