sport news Working in a sand mine aged 10, sleeping rough in Paris then fighting his way ... trends now
Francis Ngannou has perhaps overcome adversity to triumph against all the odds life stacked against him more than any other fighting champion in history.
It is one of the reasons the softly-spoken, hard-punching powerhouse is adored by fans and there has been such an outpouring of sympathy at the heartbreaking news that his 15-month old son, Kobe, has died.
Posting on Instagram, Ngannou, 37, said: 'Too soon to leave but yet he's gone. My little boy, my mate, my partner Kobe was full of life and joy. Now, he's laying without life. I shouted his name over and over but he's not responding.
'I was my best self next to him and now I have no clue of who I am. Life is so unfair to hit us where it hurts the most. How do you deal with such a thing? How can you live with it? Please help me if you have an idea because I really don't know what to do and how to deal with this.'
It is the most tragic, darkest day of Ngannou's extraordinary life of hardship and triumph, a story that deserves retelling.
Francis Ngannou's 15-year-old son, Kobe, has tragically died, the fighter confirmed
He grew up in Cameroon and was forced to walk six miles to school before later leaving the country in pursuit of becoming a fighter
Ngannou's profession was digging sand mines before a tortuous journey attempting to emigrate from Africa to Spain - here he reminds himself of the graft he put in as a 10-year-old having returned to his homeland as UFC champion
Ngannou (right) has had lucrative fights with Tyson Fury (left) and Anthony Joshua
Having grown up in the Cameroonian village of Batie and raised by a single mother, Ngannou was forced to walk six miles to go to school every day and was digging sand mines when he was just 10 years old.
As he got older he made the journey from Cameroon to the north of the continent - travelling through Nigeria, Niger and Algeria before reaching Morocco while packed into pick-up trucks driving through the desert.
It was there that he was able to emigrate to Spain by water - but not before being forced to live in Moroccan forests and eat food from bins while he prepared to cross the border.
Once he made it to Spain, he was seized upon by police and put into a detention centre for two months before he was released and snuck his way onto a train to France - knowing that police controls were much more tight in the UK.
It was a harrowing journey to mainland Europe and Ngannou previously told the Guardian: 'Every single step you took, it was tough. And then the next one was tougher. And then you find yourself at some place and there's no way back. You're trapped in your own dream.
'You get to some places and just see a bunch of skeletons. You don't even need an explanation because you are in the same situation,' he said. 'If your car breaks down, it's over. If you fall off the back of the truck, it's over.
Ngannou was convinced to leave boxing behind before being signed by the UFC in 2015
Ngannou regularly goes back home where he is hero-worshipped by his countrymen
'You’re s****ing yourself; you’re scared. You’re going into the ocean with this little boat that people use in swimming pools,” he said. 'You’re seeing these violent waves and you’re like "Man, I might not make it. This might be it." But what else can you do?'
Ngannou later settled in Paris but ended up sleeping in a car park as he began looking for a boxing gym - and eventually met trainer Fernand Lopez, who
