Former IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib knows how to roll with the punches - inside and outside of the boxing ring.
Nicknamed "The Kid", Dib, a devout Muslim, was born in Australia to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother.
His family migrated from Lebanon in the early 1980’s and ran a corner store, Sabrina’s Mixed Business, in south western Sydney.
But Dib was often bullied at school.
"Back in the days people didn't really know what Muslim was," Dib said. "We knew we were Muslim, but it was like 'you're not Australian'.
"I was born here. 'But you're not Australian. You don't look Australian'."
Dib took up boxing at the age of 12 to defend himself.
“At the end when I found boxing, it was like that was the changing point, because I became sick of being bullied,” he said.
He went on to train with Billy Hussein and secure fights at major venues including Madison Square Garden, MGM Grand and FM Arena.
Dib, 30, now works with young Muslims trying to encourage them to stay away from trouble.
In 2015 his wife Sara died from cancer.
"There's no training that prepares you for this and no amount of praying, begging, pleading and crying changes the reality of the emptiness you feel," Dib said.
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