VIDEO: “What’s the purpose in fighting?” Francis Ngannou breaks down in tears talking about son passing away
PFL superstar Francis Ngannou considered retiring following the death of his son but wants to 'do something good in his memory.'
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Francis Ngannou finds it difficult to cope with life without Kobe (Source: IMAGO/YT)
Francis Ngannou has struggled to come to terms with living without his son. For the Cameroonian fighter, it has been difficult to continue. However, in honor of his son, he has decided to participate in the fight game. He makes his PFL debut in October. 19 against heavyweight star Renan Ferreira in the main event. Before that, though, the sadness sometimes still creeps in.
A day back, Francis Ngannou was a guest for a media availability round on The Diary of a CEO Podcast with Steve Bartlett. During the full two-hour-long conversation, he yet again got to talk about his son. Even recently, Ngannou clarified that retirement was just a small parcel of it all. His trauma was far greater than the fight, as he teared up right after in memory of his son.
What’s the purpose in fighting, ...if how I end up not being able to fight for the only person I can fight for? [Sighs] Let's talk about something else...Francis Ngannou to Steve Bartlett; ? YT / ‘The Diary of a CEO’ Podcast (@TheDiaryOfACEO)
2024 has been a difficult year for the ex-UFC heavyweight. Ngannou tragically suffered the death of his 15-month-old son, Kobe, in April. It had the French-Cameroonian contemplating his fighting future on many occasions. Xtreme Couture coach Eric Nicksick nudges that he is finally opening up. Whatever Ngannou, 37, now does, it’s in memory of Kobe.
Kamaru Usman and Samuel Eto’o accompanied him back to Cameroon for Kobe’s funeral ceremony. Right after, PFL appointed him as the chair of the PFL Africa venture in conjunction to further expand the promotion. Barring a few press appearances, ‘Predator’ has not made that much media availability. The blank space left by Kobe still creeps in and hurts him deeply. However, he grinds on for now.
Francis Ngannou claims ‘tricks’ were played in the run-up to Anthony Joshua fight
Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 0-0 PFL) makes his return to MMA very soon. It’s a return that almost didn’t happen. However, he says he needs to stay active and in the zone if he ever means to heal from Kobe’s passing. Although he is 0-2 in the sport, stepping into crossover pro boxing had fans excited.
Francis Ngannou made his pro boxing debut against ex-WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. ‘Predator’ knocked Fury down impressively but didn’t get the nod on the judges’ scorecard. It was a sign of a promising future. However, Ngannou’s boxing fight against Anthony Joshua saw him fade out in a knockout loss. He had some thoughts on that.
Honestly, in that fight, there was a lot of unfairness… Unlike the Tyson Fury fight [where] everything was straight and everything was fair, no sneaky stuff – but the second one, ...so messy...A lot of tricks [were played], like they would get me everywhere that I was going in that [week]...one hour and a half for Anthony Joshua to arrive...Francis Ngannou further says about his boxing run; ? YT / ‘The Diary of a CEO’ Podcast
He believes this was the purpose of trying to make him fatigued and at a critical disadvantage. New to boxing cultures, he stayed in his locker for a long time, only for the car to pick him up late. Firstly, Ngannou thought this must be natural for the boxing time frame. It turns out that the arena producer complained about running behind on the broadcasting. As such, he will aim to get back to the winning column soon.
In case you missed it:
- Francis Ngannou eliminates confusion around being ‘DRUGGED’ before Anthony Joshua fight
- Francis Ngannou Net worth, Fighting Career and Personal life
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