Francis Ngannou has a boxing legend giving him at least a chance in a fight against Tyson Fury ... with Mike Tyson telling TMZ Sports believes "anything is possible" if the two heavyweights face off in an epic matchup.
Ngannou, who recently became a combat free agent after spending more than 8 years with UFC, told us last month he's been in contact with Fury's camp about making a fight happen with the Gypsy King.
Of course, Ngannou is one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the game, but it would be his first professional boxing fight ... and going up against Fury would be a huge task for anyone, let alone a rookie pugilist.
Tyson showed a bit of optimism for The Predator when we caught up with him in LA ... giving us a simple, yet hopeful response to his chances in the ring.
Fury might already have his next opponent lined up with Oleksandr Usyk, but it's clear both sides are serious about putting ink to paper sometime soon.
We also spoke with Tyson about whether he would like to ref Ngannou vs. Fury when the time comes ... and if he'll ever take another fight again -- and his answers are pretty interesting!!!