Dewey Cooper, Francis Ngannou’s coach, believes that his fighter’s match with Anthony Joshua will be different from what Tyson Fury offered. As the former kickboxer and boxer noted, the two fighters would be employing the same set of skills but stressed that “The Predator” would still prevail in the ring.
Ngannou will be facing Joshua after his earlier plans with Deontay Wilder were scrapped when the boxer was defeated by Joseph Parker in Riyadh last month. Nonetheless, despite the two not originally booked to fight each other, the bout excites many both in the MMA and boxing worlds. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has placed his bet on his own talent, Joshua, but Cooper believes Ngannou will have his first boxing win this time.
To recall, Ngannou had his first professional boxing fight against Fury. Despite losing, the MMA fighter gained a respectable reputation in the boxing industry after managing to drop the opponent in the third round and ultimately giving him a challenging fight. For Cooper, this happened with Fury sporting different styles, but he said that it would be different with Joshua, whom he claimed has the “same tools” as Ngannou.
“He’s a very good fighter, fundamentally sound, strong, big athletic, good footwork when he wants to,” Cooper described Joshua on Morning Kombat. “He’s going to be a real challenge because the Tyson Fury fight was about skill. It was about being cerebral because Tyson has so many different styles. He fights in three, four different styles. This fight is mano-a-mano, fire vs. fire. Tyson Fury fight was water vs. fire. Tyson was water. He can drown you. He can splash on you. He can crash on you. He can just wear you down, all these different things. Joshua brings the same tools that Francis brings. Of course Joshua’s pedigree is very high. He’s an Olympic gold medalist for crying out loud.”
Despite these similarities and the fight being in Joshua’s sports realm, Cooper thinks his student still has the advantage when it comes to strength.
“It’s going to come down to one thing, who lands that money shot first, who has the bigger heart, who has more test of fortitude to go through dark areas and continue fighting with passion and intent, and I feel that’s where we’re going to persevere,” added Cooper. “Francis Ngannou is going to beat him because he’s just going to be stronger than him in all aspects.”
Ngannou also earlier expressed confidence in beating Joshua, who promised to give him a KO before the bout was booked. And despite being open about the possibility of losing again, the fighter underscored that he’s more than capable of bringing chaos to the boxing ring even if it is not his home.
“Even Tyson Fury said the same thing and Tyson Fury is better than Anthony Joshua,” Ngannou responded about Joshua’s KO threat. “… My comfort zone will be the octagon, but I’m going to the ring and putting them in a bad spot in the ring… when we step in the ring, they don’t give me anything and I still get them in trouble.”
