Windsor novice boxer wins gold

by Melissa Iarusso

A local novice boxer has taken home the gold medal after competing at Canada’s largest amateur boxing tournament.

Hisham Abdu made his amateur boxing debut at the annual Brampton Cup tournament Feb. 1-3. The 21-year-old welterweight from the Border City Boxing Club in Windsor competed in three bouts – one on each day of the tournament – and took on senior novice fighters from Ontario and Quebec.

The preliminary fight was Feb. 1 when Abdu fought Quebec’s Imran Mandozai. Both fighters weighed in at 64 kilograms.

“I was very nervous, anxious and excited going into my first fight,” Abdu said. “I just wanted to get in there and throw as many punches as I could. I’ve been training for a year so I felt very confident and ready to perform.”

The fights consisted of three two-minute rounds.

With a unanimous decision from the judges, Abdu advanced to the semi-final fight where he faced Edward Skeete of Milton, Ont. Another unanimous decision led Abdu to the finals. In all fights he had his opponents in an eight-count, but could not manage to knock them out.

Border City coach Samir El-Mais said he was happy with Abdu’s results and how he conducted himself inside and outside the ring.

“He did well in all of his fights but the second fight he looked the best. He fought a bigger, more experienced fighter,” said El-Mais. “He really proved to himself and his competitors that he is an up and coming boxer. Even though I think he could have stopped every fight I was proud of his overall performance and that we took home the title. We’re happy to have Hisham representing Border City Boxing Club.”

The final fight versus Ted Zacharopoulus of Toronto was held Feb. 3. Although Abdu lost the first round, he won the gold medal with a split decision from the judges 2-1.

“This was an incredible feeling,” Abdu said. “During the fight I got waves of adrenaline from the crowd cheering me on and just knowing that I deserved to win the fight. After the fight was over I felt so energized and alive. I’m happy with all my fights from the weekend but will hit the gym to keep on training and improving my skills.”

The tournament hosted over 250 boxers from over 60 clubs. In addition to Abdu, Border City Boxing Club earned two other titles at the tournament – Humam Farouq, 20, won gold in the heavyweight division and Nathan Campbell, 12, won silver in the 40 kilogram division.

Abdu is scheduled to fight March 30 in Toronto.

“It’s just a club show,” El-Mais said. “I want to build him up the correct way and not rush into anything. I will find him a lot of fights and shows to attend so he can get the experience he needs to do well in the nationals and so on. By next year he will be ready to fight in the Ontario Championships.”