Francis Ngannou will 'keep dreaming' as he tests his boxing mettle against Anthony Joshua

Francis Ngannou sat in the makeshift gym at the resort where he resides temporarily in Riyadh, as he prepares for a second professional boxing bout that could send shock waves through the sport, and remarked on a truly incredible journey to stardom.

“Life always works out pretty well when you believe,” Ngannou told The National and a small collection of other publications present in the Saudi Arabian capital.

“Most of the time you will get [made] unstable by the storm, and then maybe that can create a doubt in your mind.

“But if you stay still, you will find out that life is always good.”

It may be good now, great in fact, but for sure it was not always that way. By now, Ngannou’s life story is well-documented and destined for Hollywood, but it is worth repeating.

Aged 10, he laboured in a sand quarry in his native Cameroon; at 26 and seeking a better life, Ngannou set off for Paris, thwarted in a year-long first attempt by way of Morocco and then, in the second, jailed for entering Europe illegally.

On his release, Ngannou lived homeless on the streets of the French capital, destitute and alone. It was only when Didier Carmont, a boxing coach and brother of pro mixed martial artist Francis Carmont, offered refuge and an introduction to MMA that Ngannou began his almost inexplicable rise to the sport’s pinnacle.

By the time he departed the UFC early last year, caught in a contractual dispute and again determined to enhance his quality of life, Ngannou had captured its heavyweight championship.

He was unsatisfied with the deal put forward by the world’s lead mixed martial arts promotion, subsequently stripped of the belt, and released to become a free agent. His resolve was yet another bold move in an existence brimming