‘Ngannou swimming with the sharks in opposition to Joshua’, says ex-UFC star’s coach
Dewey Cooper declared that Anthony Joshua will “face the wrath of Francis Ngannou” of their blockbuster boxing conflict.
The boxing coach of the previous UFC heavyweight king is as assured as ever within the Cameroonian scoring a victory over the two-time former unified world heavyweight champion of their thrilling battle on Friday (March 8).
Despite dropping his skilled boxing debut in opposition to Tyson Fury in what was a controversial split-decision, Ngannou’s inventory solely rose after pushing the Brit to his restrict final October.
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He impressed so closely {that a} win in opposition to Joshua will see him tackle the winner of Oleksandr Usyk’s title battle in opposition to Fury on May 18, in what might be simply his third battle within the sport. It would additionally see him equal the report for the least quantity of fights earlier than clinching a title bout, which is at the moment held by ex-boxer Francisco Moreno.
Speaking solely to Daily Star Sport, Cooper mentioned he and Ngannou plan to deliver again the golden age of boxing the place “champions fought against champions”.
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(Image: Getty Images)
“Turki Alalshikh said this January 15th at the open press conference in London that the winner of Usyk vs Fury will face the winner of Joshua vs Ngannou for the undisputed belts,” Cooper declared.
“It’s already been written, it’s already been spoken, it’s happening, and that’s how it should be. We’re taking it back to the 80s and 90s, when champions fought against champions. It’s about defending your world titles, not protecting your world titles. A real champion does not try to protect his belt, he defends his belt.”
(Image: Matchroom Boxing by way of Getty Image)
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Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua steps within the ring with MMA celebrity Francis Ngannou, following his gorgeous show in opposition to Tyson Fury.
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Ngannou has achieved a fast ascent in boxing because of his standing in MMA the place he is maybe probably the most feared fighter within the historical past of the game. But Cooper – a former boxer and kickboxer himself – was eager to dispel the label of the 37-year-old as simply an “MMA guy”.
“See, the people in boxing look at Francis like he’s some new guy, new fighter or an MMA guy,” he remarked. “He’s not an MMA guy, he was the heavyweight champ of the biggest and most popular company in the world, including boxing. When you’re the champion in that organisation, you can fight.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The 49-year-old admitted he is not desirous about padding Ngannou’s boxing report, as an alternative desirous to see ‘The Predator’ taking up fellow heavyweight brutes from the bounce. “We’re not here to build Francis’ record on easy opponents and and knock people out in five seconds and make you all say, oh, he’s a scary guy,” he added.
“Why jump in the shallow end, jump in the deep end and swim with the sharks and show them that you’re the alpha and the omega of all these fight sports.”
(Image: PA)
While a loss sits subsequent to Ngannou’s identify for his battle in opposition to Fury, his crew was thrilled along with his efficiency with Cooper insisting that Joshua might be compelled to endure a defeat in opposition to the combating behemoth.
“Regardless of whatever the decision was rendered, we consider his debut match against the undefeated best boxer in the whole world a success, and with that success, we’re going to build off that and continue confidently in the next fight and Anthony Joshua will be the next guy who has to face the wrath of Francis Ngannou.”
