"I was embarrassed"- How Francis Ngannou's father's negative street fighter reputation instilled ambition and resilience in him

Francis Ngannou recently opened up about the impact his father's street fighter reputation had on him growing up and reflected upon how it inspired ambition and resilience in him.

Ngannou is widely regarded as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in mixed martial arts and is undoubtedly one of the most prominent personalities in the sport. While the former UFC heavyweight champion tasted mainstream stardom during his time in the world's premier MMA promotion, he often spoke about all the hardships he had to face before reaching the top.

During an episode of Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson, Francis Ngannou opened up about how his father influenced his career choices. 'The Predator' revealed that his father was quite the karate maestro and narrated a story from his childhood about witnessing his father in action. He stated:

"He was a very good karate guy... He was watching fighting in the street. You know, they don't schedule fights in the street. I saw my dad once, he wasn't in an actual fight, I think they broke up the fight, and the other guy took a knife or something. I saw my dad, he was walking fast."

He continued:

"I was very embarrassed. I'm like, 'No, I don't want to do it like this.' I've been saying that to myself since I was maybe 7 years old. But, he was a very solid guy."

Watch the full video below:

---

Oleksandr Usyk predicts Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury

Oleksandr Usyk recently shared his thoughts on the highly anticipated Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury boxing match.

Ngannou is set to make his long-awaited boxing debut against the WBC heavyweight champion on October 28 in Riyadh. The non-title bout will be a 10-round affair and will be contested under standard professional boxing rules.

In a recent interview uploaded to his YouTuber channel, Oleksandr Usyk stated that he sees the Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury fight as a regular day in the office for 'The Gypsy King'. Revealing that 'The Predator' is a tailor-made opponent for Fury, Usyk said:

"This bout is bread and butter for Tyson Fury... When someone's saying that Ngannou can drop him, I probably would agree... Tell me, how can the guy with no experience in boxing beat a 2-meter giant who's been boxing for 20 years? Yes, Ngannou is a UFC champion, I'm not disputing it. But UFC isn't boxing."

Catch Usyk's comments (8:50) below:

'The Cat' is slated to face Fury in a title unification bout later this year, a fight that will crown the first undisputed heavyweight titleholder since Lennox Lewis did it over 20 years ago.