A young refugee has been boxing since coming to the UK two years ago, and now he is a national champion and hopes to have a career in the sport.
Ahsan Karimi, who is 18 years old and lives in Bristol, is learning at Sweatbox Gym in South Bristol with coach John Conway.
The teenage boy and his family left Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021 and were given a place to stay near the gym in Redcliffe, Bristol.
Mr Conway said it’s very uncommon to train for only two years and then win the championships.
Mr Conway met Ahsan’s dad through a friend and invited the family to join his gym, Sweatbox Gym, which he owns with someone else.
When Ahsan started boxing at 16, Mr. Conway said the teenager was really good at it right away.
Over the next two years, Ahsan worked hard and won eight out of nine fights. Then he went to the National Development Championships in Cannock, Staffordshire, in October.
He said he was “very happy” to win the National Youth Champion at 67kg.
“I worked really hard, trained a lot, and went through tough times to become the champion today. ”
“My family was really happy, especially my parents who supported me a lot, and I want to make my family even happier. ”
Mr Conway said: “The final was really exciting. ” The person in the group who had the most knowledge and skill and was likely to win. Ahsan won against them.
“He got better every time he fought and ended up winning against people who had more experience than him. ”
“He goes to the gym three times a week to work out, and he has made many friends there. The atmosphere at the gym is really positive. ”
Mr Conway said that everyone is very proud of Ahsan because they watched his progress in a short time and were impressed.
“I’m very glad that we could help him and give him an opportunity, and he made the most of it,” said Mr.
Ahsan said, “Sweatbox feels like my other home. ” I am thankful to them for giving me this chance and will always be grateful for it. I want to thank my coach John for helping me a lot with my training.
He said he is excited to keep practicing with his friends and wants to do even better in the future.
“I want to be the best in the world one day and be a hero to my country. I also hope to teach others to be champions,” he said.
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Novice boxer to become champion for refugees in two years
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