February 11, (THEWILL) – Bilal Fawaz, a Nigerian-born boxer who was maltreated as a youngster before being smuggled to the UK, is scheduled to make his professional debut against Vladimir Fleischhauer.
After surviving some unimaginable hurdles throughout his life, the former England amateur captain will meet the Russian on Friday evening at York Hall in London.
The boxer, who is based in the United Kingdom, grew up in a violent Nigerian household, and described his parents as “brutal” and his childhood as “torture.” He was supposedly taken to meet with his estranged father in London when he turned 14. When he arrived in London, however, Fawaz’s father was nowhere to be found. The youngster had clearly been smuggled into the United Kingdom.
Fawaz was held captive in an East London mansion and was often threatened by his holders. He was told he could not leave the building and that he could not go to school. Fawaz spent all his time doing domestic chores as a result.
Fawaz was unabashed about his situation when he arrived in the UK: “Coming over to the UK was exciting, but when I got here, I realised everything I thought was going to make me happy was going to be taken away.
“I never thought I would be in a circumstance where I was not going to be allowed out of the house. It really hurt. It hurts the soul. If you believe you are going to be given something and then that gets taken away from you… you feel empty. I felt empty to the point where I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
At the age of 19, Fawaz was able to flee the ‘torture’ and was placed in the care of the state. However, while in the UK system, the Nigerian-born boxer ran into a fresh set of problems. He spent four years at a hostel for abused and abandoned children.
During that period, he earned a sports diploma and began boxing, eventually winning the national light-middleweight title in 2012. Following his 18th birthday, however, Fawaz was compelled to fight the Home Office for residency in the UK.
The Home Office attempted to deport Fawaz to Nigeria twice but was unsuccessful since his birth was not documented in the country.
In 2017 and 2019, the boxer was detained and transported to a migrant detention centre, which had a negative influence on his mental and physical health. Fawaz, who became homeless as a result of the incident, said he turned to drink after his second arrest. The boxer claimed that he was only allowed to leave the prison centre because of his medical condition.
He has spoken openly about the experience: “They had to release me because of a medical condition. I think they were just toying with me. I think they were just playing games with me.
“They don’t care who they hurt in the process. They know they can get away with it. They are still getting away with it. I am a victim of that. If they had of given me a work permit, my life would be unbelievable now. I could have moved forward with my life and done something.
“Instead I was broken. I was an alcoholic, I was living on the street. I was also smoking. I have to thank Simon and Alisson, they are the only people who saved me. They came to me when I was sleeping on the streets. They came to me when I had no money. When I had nothing. They offered me a place to stay and they gave me some money. Without Simon and Alisson I wouldn’t be here today.
Fawaz admits that being stateless has made him feel like a “orphan,” and that he has always yearned for a sense of “belonging.” He also discussed how the circumstances had affected his financial situation, alleging that he still has “nothing.”
“The feeling of being stateless is like the feeling as a kid of being an orphan. Also, I don’t have anything to show for myself. I still don’t have a home, I am sharing a room and sharing bathrooms with other people.
“I don’t have anything in gym bank account. I don’t have a house. I don’t have a car. I am taking the bus everywhere. I have nothing to show. I am still asking people for donations.”
Fawaz’s case was taken to the Home Office by some of boxing’s top personalities. In 2014, Frank Warren praised the fighter’s “exceptional talent” in a letter to the Home Office.
Warren reportedly offered Fawaz a “£330,000” contract, which the Nigerian-born boxer turned down because he was advised by the UK government that if he worked or claimed benefits, he would be imprisoned. If it had not been for the Home Office, Fawaz believes he would have been able to represent the United Kingdom at the Olympic Games.
Fawaz was considered for the Olympic team in the run-up to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, however he was unable to participate due to a lack of a passport. Fawaz is still perplexed as to why, after “bleeding” for the country, he has been treated so brutally.
“Why are they doing all of this when I fought for them? I represented them. I literally bled for you in the ring. I literally represented you against the country you are trying to deport me to.
“I wore the England flag. I was the England captain. Even then, they turned around and said we are going to lock you up in a detention centre. You are not meant to be here. I fought against Germany as the England captain. I fought against Ireland as the England captain. I fought against Sweden as the England captain. So many countries.”
Fawaz is currently preparing for his professional debut. Last year, the 33-year-old was able to scrounge together enough money to obtain his boxing licence. Yet, Fawaz had to wait even longer to make his professional boxing debut due to the global coronavirus outbreak.
He will now compete on the undercard of Danny Dignum’s WBO European middleweight title defence at York Hall in London against Vladimir Fleischhaue.
Ahead of the bout, Fawaz predicted that he would knock Fleischhaue out in the first round, but revealed that he wanted to “toy” with the Russian by prolonging the fight:
“I could knock the guy out in the first round. But, what’s the point? I want the world to see what I can do. I want them to see I have the capacity and the skills to go the distance. I want them to see me toying with the guy. I want to put on a boxing master class, that it’s just not luck.”
The Nigerian also made comparisons of his style to those of Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, and Tyson Fury, claiming he embodies the finest qualities of each boxer: “I am not a muscle fighter. I don’t use muscle. I have a lot of knockouts on my record but I am not a person who uses a lot of muscle to knock someone out.
“I am more of a tactical boxer. I am more like Floyd Mayweather. I am more like Muhammad Ali. I am very elusive. I am very calculated. I am very tactical. I am also like Tyson Fury. He has that fighting spirit. I have all of their styles. I box in a way where I am tactical. I box in a way where I put them under pressure. I embody all of those fighters in one.”
Fawaz stated that he grew up idolising Ali and that it was an honour for him to wear the same Everlast shorts as the People’s Champion.
“When I was growing up, my idol was Mohammed Ali. Now I am wearing the same brand that my idol wore. How can a refugee like me be wearing the same brand Ali wore? Can you imagine how huge this is for me. I can’t thank Everlast enough.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
