Francis Ngannou decided to prepare for Anthony Joshua without the help of Mike Tyson.

Francis Ngannou has made a major decision regarding Mike Tyson ahead of his monstrous fight against Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou returns to the boxing ring next FRIDAY when he takes on former world heavyweight champion Joshua.

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It will be his first appearance since his valiant showing against Tyson Fury, where he dropped the WBC title holder en route to losing a controversial decision.

Ngannou will look to get off the mark in the world of boxing following his high-profile UFC departure.

‘The Predator’ drafted in ‘Iron’ Mike for his training camp ahead of facing Fury last October and was ringside for their Riyadh clash.

But he has dropped the boxing icon from his camp ahead of his fight against Joshua.

“To be honest with this fight since my training was here [Riyadh], we didn’t get Mike Tyson here,” revealed Ngannou.

“He came in like three times [for Fury], he was more advising.

“He would come and watch our training, he would be there to give advice.”

Tyson helped Ngannou prepare for his boxing debut, with the fighter’s trainer, Dewey Cooper, explaining his involvement for this camp.

“Well, Mike is his family to us,” he said. “Mike and I have been friends since the 90s. He used to come to my fights and show me support and love, and Francis talked about this over four years ago. Before Francis won the heavyweight championship in the UFC, Mike Tyson was his inspiration to want to do this boxing thing.

“So, Francis and Mike Tyson have a very special relationship. So, even if Mike isn’t here, him and Francis talk, his motivation is there one way or another. “

Ngannou could emulate Tyson’s achievement of winning a world heavyweight title should he beat Joshua.

A victory over ‘AJ’ could see him land an undisputed showdown against the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk.

Ngannou is in preparation for his gigantic fight against Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.

He enters his bout with ‘AJ’ having taken Tyson Fury the distance in their clash last year.

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Ngannou dropped Fury as he impressed fans and critics alike with his brilliant performance in his boxing debut.

The former UFC heavyweight champion will look to get off the mark in the boxing ranks when he meets the British star.

And he has sent a terrifying warning to Joshua ahead of their contest next week.

Ngannou showed off his incredible power as he landed a devastating right hand on a punch machine, recording a massive score of 999.

He almost beat Fury in his last fight as former UFC fighter Dan Hardy reckons ‘The Predator’ will come out victorious against Joshua.

“I’m going with Ngannou genuinely,” said Hardy.

“I picked Fury in the last one. I felt Fury was going to be able to catch him fifth or sixth round once he started to get tired. But this for me is a much better match up for Ngannou.

“I feel like AJ’s easier to hit, easier to rattle psychologically and I feel like because of the unknown commodity of Francis Ngannou there’s going to be a shock to the system.”

A win over Joshua could see Ngannou secure a undisputed showdown against the winner of Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, which goes down on May 18.

Joshua, meanwhile, is on a three-fight winning streak having lost back-to-back fights to Usyk.

He boasts wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.

The 34-year-old rolled back the years to deliver a masterful showing against Wallin, stopping the Swede in the fifth round.

Heavyweight legend ‘Iron Mike’ coached Ngannou for his fight against Tyson Fury last year but the 59-year-old hasn’t helped him out for his upcoming fight against Joshua

Francis Ngannou has revealed that Mike Tyson hasn’t been helping him prepare for his upcoming fight against Anthony Joshua.

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Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou is currently preparing for his second boxing fight following his stunning debut against Tyson Fury last October. Ngannou recruited ‘Iron Mike’ to help him train for the Fury fight and the boxing legend’s services paid off as Ngannou put his rival down to only lose by a single point in a controversial decision.

Ngannou has been in Saudi Arabia for the past five weeks training at Tyson’s new boxing gym in Riyadh. “To be honest with this fight since my training was here [Riyadh], we didn’t get Mike Tyson here,” Ngannou told Mirror Fighting. “He came in like three times [for Fury], he was more advising. He would come and watch our training, we would be there to give advice.”

Ngannou and Tyson did reunite over the weekend as they sat next to each other whilst cageside for the PFL vs Bellator Championships event in Riyadh. The first major MMA event in Saudi Arabia cemented Ngannou’s opponent for his cage fight return as he will fa s Renan Ferreira after the Brazilian knocked out Ryan Bader in just 21-seconds.

Ngannou was goaded by Fury in the build-up to their crossover clash but former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua has taken a different approach by refusing to belittle the Cameroonian. Ngannou isn’t surprised by Joshua’s lack of trash talk and explained why any nerves shown by the Brit could be a good thing.

UPDATE ;Surprise world title fight added to Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard at late notice

“Anthony Joshua never trash talks, his personality is more serious unlike Tyson Fury who is more like a playboy. I think when it comes to fighting, they both know how to fight and that’s what I’m focused on. He might have been nervous but that doesn’t mean anything, in fact I think being nervous means he is taking things very serious. It’s very important because he’s going to do his best to show up on the day with everything,” he added.

Joshua and Ngannou have been promised an undisputed world title fight against the winner of Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk with a win on March 8. Ngannou is seemingly hoping Fury can get past the Ukrainian as he wants the chance to avenge his heavily-scrutinised points loss to the Brit.