Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is a believer in the abilities of Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, is currently training to make his professional debut in the sport of boxing - against WBC king Tyson Fury.

Their non-title fight will take place on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.

To get properly ready for the contest, Ngannou made headlines several days ago when he officially hired Tyson as a trainer.

Ngannou, who has little to no experience in boxing, is a tremendous underdog in the fight.

Fury, regarded by most observers as the number one heavyweight in the world, has been tearing up the competition in recent years. The 'Gypsy King' has scored stoppages in his last three fights, two of them against one-punch KO artist Deontay Wilder, and last December's beatdown of Derek Chisora.

While just about everyone is expecting a complete mismatch, Tyson is predicting a matchup that is going to be more competitive than most people think.

“He’s had many professional fights, but he’s never experienced a professional boxing match,” Tyson told First Take. “But by working with him yesterday, he has the aptitude, and I see a good future in this life. It’s not going to be as one-sided as people think it is. I was speaking with Francis once he came in and I asked him ‘Are you sore today?’, and he said ‘No’.”

“That was a big mistake. But, we’re going to work and we’re going to exert everything he has for this particular match. I definitely believe that it’s going to be a tougher fight than anyone thinks.”

Ngannou has been out of the cage since January 2022, when he picked up his final win as a contracted fighter to the UFC. While the UFC attempted to re-sign him, Ngannou would later cut a deal with rival group PFL.