From western Sydney to Madison Square Garden: Bilal Akkawy's rapid rise in boxing

At just 25, Bilal Akkawy has enjoyed a metoritc rise in the world of boxing.

Bilal Akkawy is undefeated in 18 bouts.

Bilal Akkawy is undefeated in 19 bouts. Source: Getty Images

On Sunday, Bilal Akkawy will go from fighting in Sydney’s western suburbs all the way to the world's most famous arena - New York's Madison Square Garden.

The son of Lebanese migrants scored a first round knockout in his professional debut seven years ago.

Nineteen undefeated bouts and 14 knock outs later, he's being hailed as a hard hitting prodigy.

His father Mick is still holding the punching bag - his own boxing career cut short by a car accident.

Bilal says father and son are still true to their humble beginnings in the garage of their suburban Sydney home all those years ago.

"Especially when I was younger and first starting out, dad definitely inspired me to want to pursue this boxing career and achieve what he didn't and even till now when I look back and watch some of his old footage it pumps me up pretty good.

"I've had a great team around me. My uncle my father. My uncle managed me and guided me. My father's trained me. So I've had a really good supportive team."

His team aims to turn him into a world champion in the next 12 months. 

Sunday's bout against Victor Fonseca of Mexico at the Mecca of world boxing is key to that success. 

"A lot of people are going to be tuning in so I'm going to be exposed to the world so a good performance there is going to just going to push me. My career is going to advance a lot quicker."

 


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2 min read

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By Darren Mara


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