Tyson Fury must fight “rough” and “dirty” if he is to overcome Oleksandr Usyk and claim the undisputed heavyweight crown, according to Francis Ngannou’s trainer. Dewey Cooper, Ngannou’s long-time boxing and striking trainer, almost masterminded a shock victory over Fury in November, only for the Cameroonian to lose a razor-sharp split decision.
But Cooper believes for all Fury’s struggles against “Le Predateur” in November, the WBC champion will reign victorious against Ukrainian maestro Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 17 – if he executes the correct gameplan. In the eyes of Cooper, who trained Jesse Vargas and Beibut Shumenov to world titles in boxing and has worked with some of the biggest names in MMA, Fury must maximise his size and strength advantages and not be afraid to push the boundaries in order to slow Usyk down.
Cooper told Express Sport Fury must learn from his countryman Anthony Joshua’s mistakes if he is to preserve his unbeaten record, and the 49-year-old believes the “Gypsy King” will get it right on the night in Riyadh. Joshua lost successive fights on points to Usyk in 2022 and 2023.
“I tell you what, we’re hoping Tyson Fury wins just to get that rematch for all the stakes, all the titles,” Cooper said. “Usyk is so talented, he’s fast, he’s skilled with an Olympic gold medal pedigree. He’s a skilled guy and he doesn’t get tired.
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“It’s going to be about Tyson Fury imposing his will, clinching him, laying on him, getting him tired, dirty boxing him and just being rough. The mistake Anthony Joshua made fighting Usyk was he tried to box friendly a little too much.
“You’ve got to get tenacious with him and utilize your size advantage. That’s dangerous too because Usyk can punch, he can box, he’s slippery and he’s a southpaw, so it’s a difficult fight.
“But I truly think by the end, Tyson will be able to dirty box him and clinch him and make it a real fight enough to be where he should be able to win this fight.”
Cooper fought professionally in boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts and is the founder and owner of Team Combat League, a boxing tournament that pits competitors from different cities in a team format. The second season of the competition begins in March.
But beforehand, he has his attention fixed on Ngannou’s fight with Joshua in Saudi Arabia on March 8. The coach has full confidence in his fighter’s ability to defeat the former two-time heavyweight world champion and harbors hopes that his man will get a rematch with Fury down the line after the controversial conclusion in November.
“Man, imagine in October a rematch with Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou for all the marbles? Of course, that’s way ahead, that’s a fantasy away,” Cooper added. “March 8 is the reality and that’s what we’re focusing on doing, disengaging Anthony Joshua and putting Francis in another astral plane in boxing.”
