28 October 2023 , 08:13
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Francis Ngannou handed one of his first sparring partners a spot on the undercard of his fight with Tyson Fury tonight.
Ngannou will make his professional boxing debut 11 years after arriving in Paris from Cameroon with little more than a dream in his head - a dream of emulating Mike Tyson. And as he began to train, one of his first sparring partners was Carlos Takam who would go on to challenge Anthony Joshua for his heavyweight titles.
And tonight, Takam will take on Scotland-based heavyweight Martin Bakole after Ngannou requested a spot on the undercard for his friend. "We are both from Cameroon and I was the one who put his fight on the card," said Ngannou. "This was my special request, to have an African fight on this card. I could have put a couple of guys on, I had a couple in mind.
"They couldn't make more fights so they approved me for one fight and that was Carlos Takam. I think that will be a good fight, they both fought Tony Yoka, Olympic champion, and they won and I think they make a perfect match-up."
Ngannou spent 14 days travelling from Cameroon to France before entering the same boxing gym as Takam in 2014. But he struggled to pick up boxing fights and instead started out on the regional mixed martial arts circuit where he developed the reputation as a power puncher which he retains today.
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Ngannou went on to join the UFC and won heavyweight gold when he knocked out Stipe Miocic in their rematch before outpointing former training partner Ciryl Gane last year. Ngannou then left the promotion after failing to agree terms on a new deal - before hitting the jackpot by signing to fight Fury - and earn £10million in the process.
Ngannou added of the challenge facing him tonight: "I have climbed a lot of mountains in my life. Those people I fought in MMA to become champion have been doing combat sports since they were kids so I'm not afraid of mountains. There is not a way to know if I can climb or not unless I try. I won't stay back and decide I can't climb, I will go to the mountain and find out I can't climb."