Francis Ngannou Interview: I was detained for being an illegal immigrant

The 6-foot-5, 18-and-a-half-foot Francis Ngannou is known as “The Predator”; Photo: Mark Robinson/Getty Images

“I’m already a champion in life,” Francis Ngannou purrs in a deep voice. He is right. Both the sporting story and the life story of the 37-year-old Cameroonian, who faces Anthony Joshua on Friday night in another heavyweight blockbuster here in Riyadh, are remarkable.

Ngannou left his hometown of Bati, where he worked in the local sand mines from age 10 to 16, to help provide for his single mother and four siblings 11 years ago to head north. This journey from poverty and Africa included being detained in Spain as an illegal immigrant and then living on the streets of Paris, but he went on to become the most feared heavyweight fighter in the world at UFC Las Vegas.

Ngannou has become a feared UFC fighter. Photo: Gregory Payan/AP

Now the physical giant has moved on to boxing. He «shocked the world» last October in his first professional boxing match, nearly defeating Tyson Fury, considered by many to be the number one heavyweight in the world, and will then face Joshua in another mega-fight dubbed «Knockout Chaos». /p>View this post on Instagram

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Ngannou, 6ft 5in, 18 and a half stone, known as 'The Predator' in the cage, has an ominous presence as he sits just a few feet away, but every question is answered in a thoughtful, quiet manner, his English flavored with a slight French accent.

Ngannou left Cameroon with «the dream of becoming a world boxing champion, inspired by meeting Mike Tyson» and in his early twenties he began to seek life in France. He traveled through Nigeria, Niger and Algeria on foot and in elevators, then crossed the Sahara Desert in the back of a truck to Morocco. He climbed barbed wire fences at the borders and attempted to cross the Mediterranean by boat six times, although he never learned to swim. He avoided Moroccan border guards, slept in the forests, and when, after a more successful boat trip, he finally entered Spain, he was detained for two months as an illegal immigrant. After receiving refugee status, he traveled to Paris, living on the streets and sleeping in car parks before finding a mixed martial arts gym. This changed his life. He joined the gym, devoted himself to the sport, and by 2021 became the UFC heavyweight champion. Last October, his life changed again after the match with Fury.

Ngannou knocked out Tyson Fury, but lost the fight. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Has Ngannou's outlook changed over the past five months? “My life has changed a long time ago and it is constantly improving…” he told Telegraph Sport, agreeing that his journey “hopefully carries a message of hope and that I am a person who can make dreams come true.”

Pausing, Ngannou adds, «That's the only way you can really claim to be alive, you know, living your dream and your rules, don't let people's opinions get you down in life.» or take you away from your dreams. So, whatever happens to you, own your life, own your dreams, dreams are free…»

Ngannou's dreams of becoming friends with Mike Tyson came true against Fury last October, a fight the African fighter was expected to lose. Once again he defied the odds. When he returned from the Kingdom Stadium to his hotel in Riyadh that evening, his mother and sister were dancing to “Francis est gagne” [Francis has won]. Francis actually won. By eye test, if not by glasses, he was a champion among many spectators. His journey into the world of boxing has begun.

On Ngannou's (left) side against Fury was Mike Tyson (right). Photo: Ahmed Yosri/Reuters

Dewey Cooper, a former professional kickboxer and Ngannou's trainer since 2017, sits down with the fighter during this interview. When we pause, the coach interjects: “Francis has limitless athletic potential, and Joshua will have a big test to show how far he can go. Every fighter's self-belief is paramount, but it's the intangibles that Francis has that are key because he's been down there all his life. He developed the fortitude himself a long time ago, long before this fight happened… and intangibles could be the key to the meeting between the two brutal punchers on March 8.”

Ngannou intervenes. “I am a world champion, maybe not in boxing, but I am a world champion in life. If the question is, is this a journey to become a world boxing champion? I don't know… You know, I want to have good fights, but becoming a boxing champion is not what interests me. I just want to make sure I have good fights, good challenges and see where I am. I started my boxing career by having two potentially the toughest fights you could expect in the heavyweight division… I love it.”

Ngannou knocked out Fury in the third round of their fight, what about Joshua? “Do I think I'll knock Joshua out? I don't know. Will I be able to knock out Joshua? Yes, I can knock him out. And I believe I can knock him out, but I'm not going to look for a knockout. I’m going there to fight and win.”