Ardi Ndembo’s trainer described the 27-year-old heavyweight as a “good guy”. Over dinner they would discuss the differences between America and Ndembo’s home country, Congo. He particularly liked to talk about his two children, who he described as his “best friends”.
Those children are now without a father. On 5 April, Ndembo stepped into a ring in Coral Gables, Florida and was knocked out in 57 seconds. Doctors placed him into an induced coma. He never regained consciousness and died three weeks later.
