

Francis Ngannou is gearing up for his first professional boxing match ever in less than a couple of months. He will take on the WBC champion Tyson Fury, but the title will not be on the line. Most people think that there is no way that ‘The Predator’ can go toe-to-toe against ‘The Gypsy King.’ However, his former coach, Fernand Lopez, claims that he could do something similar to Conor McGregor.
The Cameroonian-French fighter had been wanting to step inside the squared circle for a long time. Now that he has the chance to fight one of the best boxers ever, people have doubts regarding Ngannou’s ability to box against someone like Tyson Fury. But his former coach begs to differ. Let’s see what he had to say.
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The former coach of Francis Ngannou believes he can replicate Conor McGregor
Fernand Lopez stressed the fact that people claim that Francis Ngannou has no chance against Tyson Fury, who is a champion. However, he has a different opinion. Lopez believes anything can happen in the world of combat sports. He said, “Now, people saying that he [Ngannou] has zero chance. I don’t think [that way]. I think that everything can happen.”
Furthermore, he took the example of Conor McGregor and how people doubted him during his fight against Floyd Mayweather. Lopez mentioned McGregor’s uppercuts that rocked ‘Money’ during the fight and how people thought it wasn’t a real fight. “We saw Conor McGregor hitting Mayweather. He [hit] like couple [of] uppercuts and people was like, ‘That’s fake.’ because that was unbelievable.” Fernand Lopez believes the same thing can be replicated by Francis Ngannou.
‘The Predator’ just needs one chance
As we approach the fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, the latter’s former coach predicted that the Cameroonian-French fighter could land some significant shots at ‘The Gypsy King.’ It is because, like MMA, boxing is also about training. The more Ngannou trains, the more chances of him landing some strikes on Fury. Fernand Lopez further stated, “We might have Francis there giving some shots. Even the MMA, the boxing is a training, a dedication, everything. There is a small, slight part of chance.”
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via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 27: Francis Ngannou of Cameroon prepares to fight Stipe Miocic in their UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 260 event at UFC APEX on March 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Francis Ngannou is undoubtedly a very strong fighter. As such, Fernand Lopez believes that if ‘The Predator’ can find a way to land a significant strike on the chin of Tyson Fury, there is a chance that he might prove his doubters wrong. “If you have that chance to hit the chin when he’s [Ngannou] fresh, you might just shock the world. Who knows?”
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We have seen many MMA fighters transition to boxing, but they haven’t really succeeded in winning a fight against a full-time boxer. However, Fernand Lopez stated that Ngannou had already won by bagging the fight against someone like Tyson Fury. It remains to be seen how he will fare in his first fight, which will go down in the official record books as a professional bout.
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