Tonight’s blockbuster £55 million showdown between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou may be the ultimate high-stakes encounter, but both men have defied incredible odds to even make it to the ring.
Raised on a Watford council estate, Joshua became a household name after winning gold at London 2012, but only two years before being remanded in custody and facing a crushing 15-year sentence.
He would eventually be released with an ankle tag, only to end up being charged with cannabis possession in 2011 and given a 12-month community order before finally turning things around just in time for the Olympics.
Ngannou’s story is even more extraordinary: The 6-foot-4, 40-pound, 37-year-old grew up poor in Cameroon before traveling to Europe as an illegal immigrant at age 26. He eventually arrived in Paris, where he lived on the streets. before a friend recommended him to a local gym.
The pair go head to head in Saudi Arabia tonight in what is only the second time Ngannou has stepped into a boxing ring after his narrow and controversial loss to Tyson Fury via split decision in October.
Anthony Joshua and his beloved mother Yeta, who he says he still lives with in their London home.
Francis Ngannou entered Europe illegally after traveling from Cameroon before becoming homeless in Paris
The pair meet tonight in a money-spinning heavyweight fight in Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will meet in their long-awaited fight in Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, Joshua has been recovering after a double defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, and the Brit comes into this fight after successive victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.
The Watford-born star is the heavy favorite for this crossover fight, but as his rival’s performance against Fury demonstrates, it’s unlikely to be as simple as that.
Being the favorite on a multi-million dollar money tour marks a notable change in fortunes for Joshua, who has overcome many obstacles on the path to stardom.
His sporting talent was always there, and at first it seemed that football would be his preferred path before becoming a bricklayer.
“I remember he attended about three training sessions with (coach) Richard Smith at the time,” a former teammate shared in 2022. “He was taller than everyone else, but skinny.
“He was really athletic and fast, definitely fast. Skill-wise, he wasn’t amazing, but he was decent. He could attack people.
Joshua takes a more optimistic view of his achievements on the field, referring to himself as a “41 goal a season” striker in his playing days, and remains a committed football fan and player with friends.
Joshua became known after winning gold at London 2012, but only two years before being imprisoned.
Joshua always looked like he would pursue a career in football before taking up boxing in his teens.
The boxer as a young man, when he was already proud of his athleticism.
However, by the time Joshua turned 18 in 2007, even semi-professional football was out of the question and the fighter was working as a bricklayer while finishing college.
Joshua burst onto the national stage at the age of 22 when, at London 2012, he won one of Great Britain’s gold medals at the Olympic Games.
However, just a few years earlier he had had several run-ins with the police. AJ, who was 20 and had taken up boxing as a teenager, found himself remanded in Reading prison.
He has been vague about the details of why, calling it “fighting and other crazy things.” but the sentence could have been significant and he faced up to 15 years in prison.
He was sacked with a warning of having to wear an electronic ankle monitor and given a chance to make it big in boxing, only to be stopped for speeding while wearing a Team GB tracksuit in 2011.
A search of his bag turned up eight ounces of cannabis and he was charged with possession with intent to supply, again finding his career hanging in the balance.
A guilty plea led to a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work, plus a suspension by the Olympic committee just months before the home games.
Joshua later attributed the boxing ban and arrest to his success at London 2012, a success that launched him to stardom, money and becoming one of the country’s best-known athletes.
It was his former coach, Rob McCracken, who got the youngster back in time to compete. The situation “forced me to grow up and respect my responsibilities,” Joshua said after his success in 2012.
Meanwhile, Nagnnou faced adversity that was not equally self-inflicted.
Joshua seeks to continue climbing positions and secure his fourth consecutive victory.
Meanwhile, Ngannou will look to continue surprising the world after coming close to defeating Tyson Fury last year.
His parents divorced when he was just six years old and he was steadfast in rejecting the advances of local gangs to offer him support, walking six miles to school before starting work at the age of 12 in a sand quarry, where he earned £1.50 a year. day.
Inspired by his street fighter father, Emmanuel, he decided to pursue his dream in boxing and moved to France from Cameroon as a young adult before taking up boxing when he was 22 years old.
After crossing Africa in a van, Nagnnou entered Europe through the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa, known as one of the most fortified borders in the world.
At first he tried to scale the six-metre chain-link fences, but gave up when barbed wire cut his skin. Instead, he attempted to cross the Mediterranean in a boat, despite not knowing how to skin.
Remembering the experience in a 2022 interview with the Guardian, said: ‘You’re screwing yourself’; re scared. You go out into the ocean with this little boat that people use in swimming pools.
His attempts to cross in an inflatable boat were thwarted six times by Moroccan guards before reaching Spain on the seventh attempt, where after two months in detention he was released due to the lack of an extradition treaty between Spain and Cameroon.
Despite having no official documents and a false passport, he finally managed to reach France, where he slept in a garage.
He slept in a parking lot for two months with only a sleeping bag, volunteered at a homeless shelter cutting vegetables, and was introduced to his gym worker friend Didier by the shelter’s foundation director, Khater Yenbou. Carmont, and he just came up from there.
And so we close the circle. Two extremely different stories, different journeys, but two men who will meet in the middle of a boxing ring this weekend.
For Joshua, it was the usual method. He wins the Olympic Games. Become a professional, rise through the ranks. He achieved the expected victories before a spectacular victory against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in 2017.
In Ngannou’s first boxing fight against Tyson Fury, he had a great performance but lost narrowly.
So he was at the top of the tree and, with Tyson Fury not competing and Oleksandr Usyk yet to join the heavyweight division, the man with a target on his back.
Victories against Carlos Takam, Joseph Parker and Alexander Povetkin followed. It was Andy Ruiz Jr next in New York, which was when Joshua’s career took a turn when he was stopped in the seventh round.
A win in the rematch got him back on track and a mega fight against Usyk saw the Ukrainian win by unanimous decision. The rematch was the most important fight in Joshua’s career: he lost again.
Since then, Joshua has played a somewhat different character. Less joking, more focused. Victories against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin followed.
It is not yet clear what the objective is. An all-British megafight against Fury will be a hope until either man retires. Deontay Wilder remains an option despite his loss to Parker. Maybe even a third match against Usyk.
But first he must overcome Ngannou. An MMA giant who possibly came closest to beating Fury in his debut.
Ngannou has been romantically linked to MMA star Miesha Tate, but nothing is confirmed
Joshua is often seen enjoying a luxurious holiday in Dubai and relaxing with his entourage.
Despite wanting to be a boxer, Nagnnou trained at the MMA Factory and debuted in the sport in 2013 just three months after starting training. By early 2014 he had won his first heavyweight tournament, joining the UFC in 2015.
It was there that he went on a rampage, securing six straight victories before losing his heavyweight championship opportunity against Stipe Miocic in 2018.
However, climbing back up the division, he knocked out the same man in 2021 to win the belt, defend it against Ciryl Gane and find himself at the top of the sport.
When his contract expired in January 2023, he was stripped of his title after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new contract, and he dedicated himself to boxing.