by “I’m already a hero in life,” says Francis Ngannou’s deep voice. He is right. The sports story and life story of the 37-year-old Caronach, who will face Anthony Joshua on Friday night in another heavyweight rumble here in Riyadh, are noteworthy.
Ngannou left his native Batie, where he worked in the local sand mines from the age of 10 to 16 to help provide for his single mother and four siblings, 11 years ago to head north. That journey out of poverty and out of Africa included being detained in Spain as an illegal immigrant and later living on the streets of Paris, but he became the world’s most feared heavyweight cage fighter UFC in Las Vegas.
Now, the physical behemoth is into boxing. He “shocked the world” in October last year in his professional boxing debut, almost against Tyson Fury – widely regarded as the heavyweight world No.
Ngannou, 6ft 5in, 18-and-a-half stone and nicknamed “The Predator” by the cage, has a formidable presence as he sits just a few feet away, but every question is answered thoughtfully, softly. his manner of speaking, his English had a lilting French accent.
Ngannou left Cameroon with “a dream of becoming a world champion in boxing, inspired by seeing Mike Tyson” and in his mid-twenties he was looking for a life in France. He traveled through Nigeria, Niger and Algeria on foot and by securing lifts, crossed the Sahara Desert in the back of a truck and found his way to Morocco. He climbed barbed wire fences at borders and attempted to cross the Mediterranean sea six times, although he never learned to swim. He was steered away from Moroccan border forces by sleeping in the forests and when he finally arrived in Spain after a more successful binge trip, he was detained for two months as an illegal immigrant. When he was granted refugee status, he went to Paris, living on the streets and sleeping in car parks at night, before finding a mixed martial arts gym. That changed his life. He moved into the gym, dedicated himself to the sport and by 2021 he was the UFC heavyweight champion. Last October, his life changed again against Fury.
Has Ngannou’s attitude changed in the last five months? “My life changed a long time ago, and it just keeps getting better…” he tells Telegraph Sport, agreeing that “his journey, as someone who can make dreams come true, has a message of hope”.
Without a doubt, it is a special life story. “I feel that, everybody can do anything they put their mind to as long as they believe in it, as long as they do the right thing and, you know, they don’t demand his own dream.”
Pausing, Ngannou adds: “That’s the only way you can claim to be alive, you know, living by your own dream and by your own rules, don’t let People’s opinions give you a ride in life than take you away from your life. a dream. So no matter what you’re doing, own your life, own your dreams, dreams are free…”
With Mike Tyson as his friend, Ngannou’s dream came true against Fury last October in a contest that the African fighter was expected to lose. Once again, he went against the odds. On his return from the Kingdom Stadium to his hotel in Riyadh that night, his mother and sister danced to the tune of “Francis est gagne” [Francis has won]. Francis actually won. As for the eye test, if it wasn’t on points, it was the champion of many viewers. His journey into the world of boxing had begun.
Dewey Cooper, a former professional kickboxer and Ngannou’s trainer since 2017, is sitting with the fighter during this interview. As we stop talking, the coach has this to say: “Francis has limitless athletic potential and Joshua has a big test to show how far he can take it. Every fighter’s self-belief is key, but it’s Francis’ intangibles that matter most because he’s been down all his life. He’s built up fortitude long ago, long before this fight ever happened… and those intangibles could be crucial when two raw punchers meet on March 8.”
Ngannou intervenes. “I’m a world champion, maybe not in boxing, but I’m a world champion in my life. If the question is, is this a journey to become world boxing champion? I don’t know… I want to have good fights, you know, but being a boxing champion isn’t really on my radar. I just want to make sure I have these good fights, these good challenges, and see where I’m at. I started my boxing career by taking two of the toughest fights you could possibly expect as a heavyweight… I love that.”
Ngannou knocked Fury down in the third round of their encounter, what about Joshua? “Do I think I’m going to get Joshua? I do not know. Can I knock Joshua out? Yes, I can knock it out. And I believe I can beat him, but I’m not going there looking for a knock out. I’m going there to fight and win.”
