Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou: Joe Joyce insists UFC star's 'power is real' and he 'has a 'chance of upset win

Francis Ngannou's fabled power "is real" and the Cameroonian-French fighter "has a chance" against Tyson Fury if he can land some big shots, according to British heavyweight Joe Joyce.

Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion turned boxer, will make his debut in the ring against the undefeated Fury in Saudi Arabia on October 28 – exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office.

Fury came out of retirement for his last fight against Derek Chisora in December, winning by TKO in the 10th round, and is a big favourite against the MMA icon.

But speaking to TNT Sports ahead of his rematch with Zhilei Zhang on September 23, Joyce offered a word of caution to anyone predicting an easy Fury win, having gained unique insight into Ngannou's boxing and even sparred with him prior to the Covid pandemic.

"Before the [Daniel] Dubois fight, that was when I sparred with him," said Joyce, who eventually faced – and beat – Dubois in September 2020 after the fight was postponed multiple times due to Covid.

"I normally saw him in the UFC facilities, had a chat and that. He hits hard if you let him and I think, with the stuff he’s been working on with Mike Tyson, what I’ve seen, he looks good."

Despite his lack of experience outside the octagon, Ngannou arrives with serious pedigree and boasts the title of 'world's hardest punch'.

In January, UFC chief Dana White said of him: "His punches are equivalent to 96 horse power. That's equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can."

But Fury comes into the fight with the bigger stature, with his 6'9" frame capable of keeping the hard-hitting 6'4" Ngannou at bay.

Still, Joyce believes that having Tyson – the legendary American who made a career on toppling bigger fighters – in his corner gives Ngannou the best possible chance of causing an upset.

"I think Fury obviously needs to be switched on, but he’s experienced, he’s got the longer range, he’s taller, so he can keep him at range, but it’s about Ngannou coming in," continued Joyce.

"But especially with Mike Tyson…he wasn’t a big heavyweight so that’ll be good for him [Ngannou] to get in and if he can nail him with some big shots, then he’s got a chance.

"The power’s real if you let him hit you. It only takes one punch in heavyweight boxing so if he can land a good punch...I mean, Fury’s shown he can get up as well, but I’m interested to see this fight."

Fury twice climbed off the canvas after taking big blows from Deontay Wilder – widely considered one of the hardest punchers in the division – in their thrilling draw in 2018, before coming through two rematches unscathed.

Asked to predict the fight, Joyce added: "I think it’s probably going to be Fury unless Ngannou can knock him out and keep him down."

Fury v Ngannou can be watched in the UK & Ireland through BT, Virgin Media TV and Sky or online via the web or the TNT Sports Box Office App. You do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.

Virgin Media TV customers in the UK: customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View Live Events rail

BT TV customers can go to channel 494 and pay using their remote control.

Viewers wanting to watch the fight online should visit www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice and follow instructions to subscribe and watch on the web or on the TNT Sports Box Office App, customers can choose to watch on the big screen using Google Chromecast and Apple Airplay. EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 customers watching online or via the TNT Sports Box Office App can choose to add the payment to their mobile bill.

Sky customers can purchase TNT Sports Box Office on channel 490 via their remote control or via https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt

TNT Sports presents exclusive live sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. discovery+ is the streaming destination for TNT Sports in the UK.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, including BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels - TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4 - in high and standard definition, plus up to six digital or red-button channels. TNT Sports Ultimate offers fans selected coverage in up to 4K picture resolution with high dynamic range (HDR), presenting images and colour in cinema-level quality and Dolby Atmos sound. TNT Sports Box Office brings both subscribers and non-subscribers pay-per-view access to some of the most exciting events in the calendar. TNTSports.co.uk brings fans the latest news, views, live updates and expert analysis as well as free-to-view video clips from the sports TNT Sports presents live.