Francis Ngannou’s Coach Reveals Why ‘Lightning Will Strike Twice’

Coach Dewey Cooper was a guest on the MMA Hour hosted by Ariel Helwani. In conversation, he opened up Ngannou’s chances against Joshua. Ngannou previously went the distance in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and even scored a knockdown in the third round. Cooper believes that Ngannou could recreate the same magic against Joshua, albeit even better.

“Tyson Fury may go down, but he gets up. He’s been dropped in numerous fights, even multiple times, but he gets up, and he still fights,” Cooper said. “We can’t say the same for Joshua. So that’s just basic mathematics. Arithmetic-wise, you’ve got to say Tyson Fury’s definitely more durable, if not having the better chin.”

Cooper mentioned that Ngannou’s raw punch power is capable of making anybody’s chin vulnerable. Moreover, he added that fans might even witness Joshua getting knocked out.

“A lot of questions are going to be answered in four days. Media said Francis (Ngannou) was a hoax and didn’t take him seriously. People said that Joshua’s chinny, etc. We’ll see in four days,” Cooper said. “But I can tell you one thing: Francis is ready to go. He’s ready to shock the world again. Lightning will strike twice.”

“More dangerous opponent”

Cooper was then asked if training for Joshua was harder compared to training for Fury. Going by his words, it looks like training for Joshua might have been far more intense.

“Tyson Fury is way more dynamic. He’s multidimensional. He has many styles he fights, so he’s definitely trickier. But don’t confuse being tricky with being effective and being dangerous. Anthony Joshua, for sure, is the more dangerous opponent; Tyson Fury is the more trickier opponent,” he said.

“So, we understand the danger of this fight, and Francis is ready for it.”