UFC legend Michael Bisping claims "Francis Ngannou is the hardest puncher Tyson Fury’s faced"

Bisping believes “Ngannou hits harder than Wilder”

UFC legend says Francis Ngannou punches harder than Deontay Wilder and can dethrone unbeaten Fury

Exclusive interview with UFC legend Michael Bisping, who has incredibly backed Francis Ngannou to do the unthinkable and defeat Tyson Fury this Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He spoke to Betway Sports about the 'Battle of the Baddest':

 

Does Francis have a puncher's chance against Tyson?

“If Ngannou can connect then Fury and Usyk will be in danger, 100 percent. And that's the gamble Tyson Fury is taking and Fury has to be careful. Everytime you underestimate an opponent, that's when the opponent can come back to bite you. We've seen it before when a champion comes in far too cocky thinking he can walk through the guy and they get served a real big piece of humble pie, so this fight is a real gamble for Fury. What happens if he gets knocked out? What if one of those Ngannou missiles or grenades land?  The lights go out for Tyson Fury, but also on the Oleksandr Usyk fight as well.”

 

What advice would you give to Ngannou?

“He cannot go in there and look to box Tyson Fury, if he tries to box Fury he's going to get embarrassed. He needs to turn it into a brawl. He needs to brawl with the boxer. And just because Fury's great doesn't mean Francis doesn't have a chance, it doesn't mean he cannot cause the upset. 

“These are two human beings and in the heavyweight division one shot can change everything. Francis doesn't have the skill or experience, but he has that equaliser. That raw power. He hits harder than Tyson Fury. And If I'm training Francis I'd tell him to wrestle Fury. Not like we saw on the KSI-Tommy Fury show, but engage him in a clinch and throw him into a corner.

“If he can get hold of him, he can use his wrestling skills to throw him into the corner and then unleash. And then rinse and repeat. Corner him where he's got nowhere to hide and then throw a whirlwind of hooks and one of those unpredictable shots could find the mark. And if one does land, Tyson Fury could hit the canvas because Francis Ngannou is the hardest puncher Fury’s faced, Francis hits harder than Deontay Wilder without question.

“When you look at Francis Ngannou and his life, coming from a more than humble background, working in the sand mines of Cameroon, it's a harder fight to get out of the sand mines of Cameroon and becoming the UFC heavyweight champion of the world, than it is to go in there and beat Tyson Fury. Anything is possible.”

 

How confident is Ngannou to take on the world's best heavyweight in his pro boxing debut?

“Francis needs some crazy self belief to convince yourself that he can dethrone probably the greatest boxer of his generation in your very first contest. I'm sure he has confidence in his ability and I expect him to go for it. I expect he's going to try and knock him out. But I'm sure there's a part of himself that doesn't necessarily believe he can win. But if he does believe, a lot of people would call him a delusional fool because what a statement to make: "I'm going to beat the heavyweight boxing champion in my first boxing match", people would laugh you out of town. That said, he has insane punching power, he's the former champion, he's brought in Mike Tyson. He's doing everything he can to compete with Fury. I'm sure a part of him does believe he can do it, but there's probably a part of him that thinks "I'm going to give it my best shot".”

 

Do you think Mike Tyson is the right man for the job?

“If he tries to model himself on Mike Tyson he's on a path to losing his fight, no disrespect to Mike Tyson, but he's different to Ngannou; different skill set, shorter, ridiculously fast feet, insane head movement. Mike Tyson could do things that Ngannou won't be able to do. Francis isn't a short guy and does not have the technical brilliance of a Mike Tyson. 

“I understand him bringing the experience of Tyson and it will be valuable. Particularly the mindset of a fighter. Francis is fighting for respect in the boxing community. I'm sure there are a lot of people laughing at this, they see it as a joke, they see it as a sideshow, an exhibition for Tyson Fury to mock Ngannou, so it's up to Francis to rock the apple cart to get the respect and Mike Tyson will be able to help him shut out the negativity and to help him to believe in himself.”

 

Is it true Cristiano Ronaldo has given a gift to Ngannou before this fight?

“I think Ronaldo has given Ngannou that £90k watch maybe because just respects the man taking on this challenge and the respect for the journey he's been on in life. Ronaldo's probably thinking "you're going in there in your first fight against this unbeaten champion so I want to show my respect". It will be a nice keepsake, a little momento for Francis. I have my own watch story. This watch I'm wearing was given to me by the Sheik of Dubai after I defeated Dan Henderson. I had a phone call to my room, the voice said “someone wants to see you”. I went down and the representative from the Sheik of Dubai said "his excellency would have liked to have met you but he's on business, but he'd like to welcome you to the country" and he gave me this nice Rolex. I'll always have that story attached to it. Francis will have the same thing. It'll become a family heirloom. It'll triple in price in no time.”