Francis Ngannou’s Coach Dewey Cooper: ‘If He Lands Clean, The Fight Will Be Over’

“When Forrest called me,” Cooper continued, “I knew it was something serious as he is a high executive for the UFC now. I told him ‘Yeah, I’ll do it. Tell him to come see me at the (Floyd) Mayweather Gym.’ This big monster walks into the gym. I didn’t know he was a heavy heavyweight. I looked at him, and right there, I knew he would be a champion. We’ve been rocking together ever since.”

While Cooper and Ngannou saw success in the UFC, a little over a year ago, he was asked to join a new company called Team Combat League. Cooper is now the President of Team Combat League and gets giddy whenever someone brings it up. It’s a new venture that he hopes will continue to succeed. “They (Team Combat League) wanted to somehow bring a team element to boxing. I was on the original advisory board to bring this company together based on my fighting expertise. We came to the conclusion that we could do something exciting and different which would bring action packed boxing package to the fans. Season one was crazy, and people loved it. (Click HERE to watch Season One). Season two kicks off on March 28.”

The team of Cooper and Ngannou were inactive for a while, until a unique opportunity arose for a fight with Fury in September 2023. Many fans and media had written Ngannou off as someone who couldn’t seriously challenge the heavyweight champion. That night, he embarrassed Fury and was one scorecard away from victory. As a trainer, Cooper of course felt like his fighter should have won, but his opinion is also backed by his own experience in the ring.

“I’m a fighter and have been fighting a long time. After the fight is over, when two guys share the ring, they know who won the fight. We won the fight. Based on my experience, we won the fight. I can tell you what: Tyson Fury canceled the post-fight press conference and left the ring as a dejected fighter. I’ve never seen a fighter win the fight and refuse to do the post-fight press conference. 88% of the public felt like we won the fight.”

Although Ngannou lost the fight, he did so in a way that made fans want to see more of him inside the ring. Shortly after the heavyweight card in December, called “Day of Reckoning”, he was presented with the opportunity to face former unified champion Anthony Joshua on March 8, and he took it. “The moment he took it, he started training. We are already in Saudi Arabia and will have eight weeks here to make sure Francis is prepared,” said Cooper.

It’s hard not to see the amount of confidence Cooper has in Ngannou. It’s almost as if it’s a foregone conclusion that Ngannou will beat Joshua and once again prove that he belongs in boxing. Cooper has made his prediction: “It can play out a few different ways. Our whole mentality is to win. The aim is to demolish & destroy and make it obvious who the better fighter is. Francis is the hardest puncher in the world. If he lands clean, the fight will be over. I’m coaching one of the hottest fighters in the world, Francis Ngannou.”