"Really, really cut by the barbed wire" - Francis Ngannou reveals still having physical scars from daring African escape
Francis Ngannou's journey to the top of combat sports has been well documented, but many still do not realize the struggles he made to become a world champion.
A little over one month since losing a controversial decision to Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut, Ngannou made an appearance on the Club Shay Shay YouTube channel podcast with host Shannon Sharpe. In the two-hour interview, Ngannou and Sharpe discussed many topics, with one being the Cameroonian-French's illegal immigration to Paris.
While detailing his unpleasant journey, Francis Ngannou called his initial escape 'really bad' and told Sharpe that he still has 'deep scars' on his body from the first failed attempt. Ngannou said:
"I failed [to escape] six times. I went to the gate three times and it didn't work. The first time I got really, really cut by the barbed wire... I still [have] some deep scars on me that remind me... I finally succeeded the seventh time, and it was one year exactly from the day that I left Cameroon."
Ngannou detailed his 14-month-long journey after leaving Cameroon in an attempt to find his way to France to pursue a better life. It would be in Paris that the eventual UFC champion would begin training in MMA under Fernand Lopez.
View the full episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast on YouTube below:
What country is Francis Ngannou from?
As Francis Ngannou stated on the Club Shay Shay podcast with host Shannon Sharpe, the heavyweight is originally from Batié, Cameroon.
However, as Ngannou also mentioned, 'The Predator' would spend much of his life in Paris, France. Though he sought increased opportunity in France compared to his home country, Ngannou would still end up homeless and lonely.
The young Ngannou would eventually manage to find a boxing club to train for free before ending up in the hands of Fernand Lopez and the MMA Factory team where he was introduced to the sport he would ultimately excel in.
As a former sand mine worker with very little education, Ngannou's story and journey have already made him one of the greatest 'rags to riches' athletes of all time.