Dewey Cooper praises Francis Ngannou for his power and spirit
Francis Ngannou is back in action come March 8th against Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Head coach Dewey Cooper, a former two-time kickboxing world champion, had some choice predictions for his fighter.
Speaking to Fruity Slots, Cooper said:
Francis Ngannou will become undisputed heavyweight champion inside three fights
“Once he’s beaten Joshua he’s already alluded to the fact he wants the rematch with Fury in October. Francis said he definitely wants that to happen, it would be great if we defeat Joshua and then somehow Tyson Fury beats Usyk – there’s no guarantee there by the way – but if he does, could you imagine Ngannou’s third professional boxing fight going for the undisputed boxing titles, all the belts in his third fight, defeating Tyson Fury in the rematch and becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion inside three fights. These are dreams that people fantasize about, these things are possible for Francis Ngannou this year, craziness. ”
We hope Mike Tyson joins camp to help topple Anthony Joshua
“We hope Mike Tyson joins camp, I’m sure Mike will come through, but that’s up to Francis. Four years ago Francis said to Mike ‘if I ever have a boxing match I want you in the corner’ and given the brotherhood they formed over those four years, it was only right for Mike to be involved in it.
“Just for Francis to be able to say ‘Tyson is my inspiration for boxing and I can’t believe he’s working my corner in the biggest fight of my life’. From a spiritual standpoint it was extremely important. Imagine if your favourite athlete came to support you, it would inspire and motivate you, so Mike inspired and motivated Francis in so many ways. Once you start believing in yourself and you’re confident, whether it’s just Mike’s presence or him showing you body shots, it’s going to make a major difference in the fight game. The man who is most confident, as long as he has the right tools, can overcome impossible odds.
“Mike gave Francis huge motivation and was very helpful and Francis was excited about it. It was a necessary piece of preparation and it made a major difference in his first fight because to truly think you can beat the best boxer in the world has to be hard, so the more motivation you can funnel inspiration from is helpful, and Tyson helped to funnel some of the belief into Francis.”
We’re chopping wood in training camp like Muhammad Ali
“We’re going to chop wood, he’s already chopping wood and working hard, we have gone back to the Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier old school training methods, paying in sweat equity. He’s going to pound the pavement.
“Those guys in the fifties, sixties and seventies, they had an undying mentality. It wasn’t always pretty but it was gritty. They had an unbreakable spirit and always fought to the end, and that is what Francis Ngannou has in his DNA.”
Francis has ‘gargantuan power’ he will hurt AJ with either hand
“Francis’ power is unheard of, it’s gargantuan power. It’s another astral plane of power, he hits you so hard, it’s actually very painful training him, it’s very gruelling. I’ve been injured many times; my ribs, my shoulders, my arms. He’s just so strong and people don’t realise it’s a natural power. He barely throws the punch and it hurts you and I really feel in this fight, do not blink because Francis will be able to hurt Joshua with either hand.”
AJ has fire in his hands and his power is more dangerous than Fury’s
“Is AJ a more difficult fight than Tyson? I’ve pondered this myself, it’s like fire and water. Fury was water. Water can be frozen and he could hit you solidly, but you have to contain his high skill and high IQ, whereas AJ is fire, fire can burn you, fire can scorch you and it’s really painful to get burned by that flame, the power of Anthony Joshua I’m talking about, so this fight is as difficult as Tyson Fury because of the power factor, the fire he has in hands, he can put you out. I knew Fury could not land one punch to topple Francis, he’d need a multitude of punches, but Joshua is more dangerous from that perspective. They are both difficult, particularly because of the experience Francis lacks, but Francis has those intangibles; crazy power, the chin, and he’s way more mentally tough than people know. It will be a different type of Fury, action personified.”
I can’t wait for them to get in the clinches to see who is physically the strongest
This is going to be fire versus fire and battle of wills to win and intestinal fortitude and Francis will ultimately have more intestinal fortitude, a stronger will and he will win this fight and shock the world again. He’s going to do unscripted, improbable things, like knocking out a two time heavyweight champion. The experience Francis gained from the Tyson Fury fight is invaluable and we expect him to step up a level from that fight. Both have powerful right hands, are both demi-god looking strong men and I can’t wait for them to get in the clinches to see who is physically the strongest and psychologically the sturdiest. The clinches are very important and the guy who can position the other guy into disadvantageous positions is going to land the bigger shots, the uppercuts, and have more success. AJ likes to clinch and throw that uppercut from both hands. He has a nice inside uppercut that we are going to have to be really prepared for and vice versa.
We expect Francis to be beat AJ
Everyone now knows Francis’ level but he’s going to grow from that first fight with Tyson Fury. We expect victory in this fight, it’s not an absurd or ridiculous thing, we expect the victory which will most likely come by knockout. This narrative that the media portrayed about Fury coming unprepared is nonsense, his dad said he trained, Joseph Parker said he trained hard. Are they all liars? I don’t think so. I don’t believe he took him lightly, he could not step up and dominate Francis, it was a competitive fight and I think Fury fought well, he just wasn’t prepared for how strong, athletic, mentally talented and durable Francis is, I think the whole world forgot that point. Guys disrespect mixed martial artists all the time because they are not boxers. At the end of the day, a fighter is a fighter and a warrior is a warrior, and true warriors like Francis are going to give you a hard time in the street, cage or ring.
WBC chief told Francis Ngannou ‘you’re better than most of the heavyweights in the world’
I was there when Mauricia Sauliman told Francis that he was going to rate him in the top ten, he told Francis ‘you’re better than most of the heavyweights in the world’. Francis deserves to be in the top ten and he deserves to fight AJ. And everyone thinking it’s just the element of surprise that made Francis look so good against Tyson Fury, they are sadly discounting the skills he has and the team that are around him. We are not just new dudes to this fight game. We’re not just MMA nerds with no expert background. I’ve won eight world championships in boxing, there’s a boxing pedigree people underestimate and there’s a powerful warrior in Francis Ngannou that I think people underestimate. And they’ll see this isn’t about boxing versus MMA it’s about fight versus fighter.
Ngannou has an ‘undying belief’ he will beat Anthony Joshua
“Francis did child labour, digging dirt to pay for his school supplies. He’s had a hard life and it’s made him very strong physically and mentally. He has a special mentality, an undying belief in himself, he’s been through astronomical obstacles to get to France, to the UFC and eventually to become heavyweight champion. Those things should not have happened on paper. And then his professional boxing debut was against the best heavyweight in the world and he should have won. Francis has an intangible that you can’t calculate. He’s been the underdog since birth but he was crazy enough to believe in himself and now he faces an Olympic gold medallist in his second professional fight, a two time world champion.”