You would not have blamed the little Syrian boy for not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps into the family business – after all, boxing is not for everyone.
But for Abdulmanem Kabbani, the heavyweight who on Thursday night takes on Fatih Ulusoy at May Day Mayhem in Dubai, it turns out it was for him.
“My father was my inspiration to get into boxing,” Kabbani, 26, said during a break in training at Dubai’s Round 10 Boxing Club. “Everyone used to say ‘your dad’s a champion and you should be a champion like him’.”
Kabbani took up boxing at seven, but as a child, he was not always aware of his father’s exploits in the ring. Soon it became apparent that there were no shortage of stories about Kabbani Sr – from close sources.
“I don’t recall my father fighting because I was too young,” said Kabbani.
“But my trainer’s trainer was knocked out by my father a few times, so I was always reminded. My father, Mohammed Kabbani, was one of Syria’s best fighters.”
On Thursday night, Kabbani Jr’s fight is one of the most prominent on the card. He has not been short of high-profile matches in his past, but it has been a while since the spotlight has fallen on him as it will at Emirates Golf Club.
“I represented the UAE in recent years, but before that it was Syria,” he said. “I got two gold medals in Arab games 2004 and 2005, and also an Asian Games gold.”
He is rightly proud of his achievements at amateur level, a champion just like his father before him.
There have been some lean years since, but he is back with the trainer that set him on the road to success in the first place, the Romanian Morovan Viorel.
“I moved to the UAE from Syria in 2002, he trained me for a few years before he left and I returned to Syria,” Kabbani said.
“For a while I was going back and forth between the two countries, but then, after I represented the UAE in 2007 and in 2009, I turned professional.”
An injury and a loss of direction without his trainer hampered his progress, and his professional record stands at three wins and two losses. But he has returned fitter than he has been for several years and mercilessly hounded by an uncompromising, critical coach.
“Kabbani is talented, he was one of my boxers when I was trainer for the UAE Boxing Federation between 2001 and 2005,” said Viorel, who trained Kabbani for two of those years and then left the country before returning recently.
“But after I left the country he trained alone and I think he made some mistakes.
“He also believed he can train less and make it, but no.”
Kabbani wants to make those lost years a distant memory.
“I was out of the ring for a while, but now I am back stronger than before,” said the fighter, whose family also lives in Dubai.
“From 2011 I got injured and was away from boxing for almost three years, and I took some time out to recuperate.”
A long-time hand injury finally cleared up in 2013. Now, the confidence is swelling with every training session.
“Over the last year, I’ve started hitting harder again,” Kabbani said. “Now I’m in shape for Thursday’s fight. I’m going for a knock out, inshallah.”
Hard-hitting Dubai Fighting Championship winner Ulusoy will prove a formidable obstacle tonight. The man nicknamed “The Ottoman” in March famously knocked out unsanctioned UAE fighter Mohammed Ali Bayat, who had previously beaten an out-of-shape Kabbani twice.
It is a tall order for the Syrian, but he knows that big opportunities might not come around as regularly these days and he is ready to grab the moment.
He is heavily invested in making his fight, and May Day Mayhem, a massive success.
“It will be a great show,” he said. “I’ve been trying to to help with organisation and promotion of the fight too.”
Indeed, his image adorns the posters promoting Wednesday night’s event; Kabbani fighting out of Dubai might turn out to be the boost that the fledgling local boxing scene needs.
“There are some big champions on this card, there’s someone [Botha] who has fought Mike Tyson, and other very highly rated fighters,” he said.
“It will be a special occasion.”
akhaled@thenational.ae
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