Mike Tyson proud of Francis Ngannou for listening to everything he said to knocked down Tyson Fury: ‘The champ went down’

Mike Tyson praised Francis Ngannou for following the game plan vs. Tyson Fury.

Legendary boxer Tyson helped train Ngannou to go the full 10 rounds with Fury in their crossover boxing match nine days ago in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou knocked down the WBC heavyweight champion in Round 3, but lost the bout by split decision.

Tyson trained Ngannou for the fight,which many thought he had no chance in.

“I was really proud of Francis Ngannou because he listened to everything I said,” Tyson said on a recent episode of “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson.” “And I was telling everybody about the great left hook that he landed on his sparring partner and actually broke his leg, and I knew if he landed that left hook on anybody they were gone – and I was right. The champ went down. I’m happy. I’m very grateful to be involved with his glory, his victory. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Mr. Francis.”

Ngannou is angling for a rematch with Fury, but “The Gypsy King” is expected to face Oleksandr Usyk next – a fight that already had contracts signed and was announced before Fury vs. Ngannou even happened. Their undisputed heavyweight title unification fight reportedly will happen in February.

Mike Tyson on robbery claims in Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou: The real champion is was Ngannou

Mike Tyson doesn’t consider Francis Ngannou’s loss to Tyson Fury a robbery, despite some controversy over the split decision outcome.

In their recent clash, Ngannou faced current WBC heavyweight champion Fury and the latter emerged as the victor, although Ngannou dropped him in the third round, leading many to believe Ngannou deserved to win.

After the fight, Mike Tyson was approached by fans ringside and was asked about his scoring of the fight.

When questioned about whether he thought it was a robbery, Tyson – who had been coaching Ngannou – expressed his opinion.

“No., it wasn’t a robbery because everybody knows the outcome,” Tyson noted.

The legend also took to social media to praise his fighter.

“The true champ of the evening,” he wrote, referring to the former UFC star.

Ngannou hits out at the judges
Ngannou, who celebrated with a Cameroonian flag as fans chanted his name, later took to social media to express his opinion, stating that Fury should thank the two judges.

“This boxing world wild but some judges should be responsible for their actions,” Ngannou wrote on X.

“This type of stuff is what f**ks up people’s career.”

Ngannou posted several photos from the fight showing him landing on and dropping Fury, along with the caption “table tennis champion of the world”.

This reference relates to Fury’s pre-fight comments where he compared facing Ngannou to a table tennis champion playing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, a comparison that proved incorrect on fight night.