The once labelled ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ is seeking to help another fighter claim that title, as Mike Tyson sets about preparing Francis Ngannou for his boxing debut against the current WBC world champion, Tyson Fury.

Although he is yet to enter the squared circle, Ngannou’s fearsome reputation as a knockout artist proceeds him ahead of his first taste of professional boxing.

On his route to the UFC heavyweight title, the 36-year-old claimed eleven victories, all by stoppage and all bar one coming by way of knockout.

As a result, Ngannou’s name is forever etched into the history of the MMA organisation as one of its most brutal punchers.

Who better to train a man so daunting than a man who shares that same esteem in the sport of boxing?

During his rise to the world title, Tyson knocked out twenty-five of his twenty-seven counterparts, recording an astonishing eighteen consecutive stoppages within one year of his professional debut.

Since retiring in 2005, Tyson has remained ever-present in the sport, regularly interviewing current fighters on his podcast, Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson.

Now, he is set to make the ringwalk once again as he trains Ngannou. On his social media, the heavyweight legend showed the intense training that he has been putting Ngannou through with the ambition of pulling off the ultimate upset.

The Fury-Ngannou spectacle is scheduled to take place on October 26 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, although the heavyweight world title will not be on the line in the ten-round bout.

Boxing fans largely believe there to be little jeopardy in the contest for Fury, who is widely considered one of the best active fighters on the planet.

Mike Tyson was on the wrong side of one of the biggest upset losses in boxing history when 42-to-1 underdog Buster Douglas knocked him out in Tokyo, Japan,

Tyson was 22 years old and the undefeated heavyweight champion at the time.

Fast forward 33 years, and Tyson will be involved in the biggest crossover heavyweight boxing clash to date when his namesake Tyson Fury fights the Iron Mike-trained former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou (17-3, 12 KOs MMA) will be making his boxing debut, and if he were to beat the WBC heavyweight titlist Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), Tyson thinks it would be a bigger upset than his loss to Douglas.

“Tyson Fury got dropped by a small guy early in his career,” Tyson said on The Jim Rome Show. “[Ngannou] punches like God knows who, man. He’s an athlete, he moves quicker, works with his speed, and listen man, he only has to land one or two.

“Tyson’s never been in the ring with somebody that can punch this hard.

“[Ngannou] asked me to go all-out aggression. He’s moving his head. He’s getting it together, and he’s determined to do this stuff for his country, his people, his patriotic pride. This is really interesting. I’m very excited about doing this.”

“[An Ngannou win over Fury] – that would be a bigger upset than Douglas-Tyson.”

Fury and Ngannou will fight on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Tyson hosted Ngannou on his podcast Hotboxin’ to further discuss the fight.

“This is what you have to look [at] when you think about him fighting Tyson Fury — Conor McGregor went 11 rounds or 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather, the greatest fighter of his generation, if not all-time. If that can happen, why can’t [Ngannou] give Tyson a capable fight?” Tyson wondered. “Floyd Mayweather is the greatest fighter in the world as far as technique and style. So why doesn’t he have a chance if McGregor did well and did a great account of himself? Everybody respects him for his effort. Nobody said, ‘He’s a b!tch.’ No one is saying that.

“[Ngannou and I] worked out and I saw a lot of good qualities. He pretty much just needs to shake off some of the cobwebs and then it’s full speed ahead. You learn pretty quick, too, which I was really impressed with.”

The soon-to-be 37-year-old Ngannou brought a boxing-first background to his career as a mixed martial artist.

“If I land a bomb on Tyson Fury, I think the lights turn off for him,” Ngannou said. “But now the problem is how to sharpen the weapon properly to land that bomb, because it’s good to have a bomb, but the great Teddy Atlas always says, ‘delivery system.’ You have to have a proper delivery system. That’s something that’s always stuck in my mind. You have to have a bomb, that’s cool, but how to have a good delivery system to aim and shoot [is more important], and that’s why Mike Tyson is here.”