Shabaz Masoud boxing clever to chase GB dream
Having made some serious sacrifices in attempting to make it as a boxer, Shabaz Masoud doesn’t need telling just how crucial the next few weeks might be in making his dream a reality.
The Wellington Boxing Club bantamweight quit his job and has even put a promising academic career on hold in pursuit of glory in the ring.
And he is now determined to grasp his big chance, when he undergoes an assessment for the GB squad later this month.
If successful in winning selection, Masoud would spend part of each week training at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, the same gym which has nurtured the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Anthony Joshua to name only two.
“It would be a dream come true if I was to make it and would take my career to the next level,” explained the 21-year-old.
“I’d be getting a lot more fights and better fights too. At the moment it is tough because there are a lot of people who do not want to fight me.”
Masoud, who began boxing at the age of 11, has already given serious indication of his potential in recent months, claiming just Wellington’s second national title in six years when he won the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs Championship last December.
A run to the final four of the Elite ABA’s then followed last month, even if Masoud and his team were less than impressed with the decision which saw the judges award Louis Lynn of London-based Nemesis ABC a controversial points decision in their semi-final clash.
Their frustrations were tempered, at least, by the fact Masoud had already won a rousing quarter-final over GB No.1 Chris Bourke which caught the eye of the watching national coaches.
“I was absolutely gutted to lose in the semi-finals of the ABA’s – particularly as I was convinced I’d done more than enough to win the fight,” said Masoud.
“I’ve watched it back around 25 to 30 times now and I’m still not sure how the decision went against me.
“The consolation is that I boxed strongly all weekend and my form has been good for some time now.
“When you get a win like I did in the quarter-finals over Chris Bourke, it makes people sit up and take notice.”
Masoud, the nephew of Wellington head coach Mo Fiaz, only returned to boxing late last year after a four-year break, opting to defer the final stage of his degree in sports management at Staffordshire University.
“There is still the option for me to go back and complete my degree and one day that is what I intend to do,” he explained.
“But right now all my efforts are focused on boxing. I wake up in the morning, I go training, I eat, train some more and then go to sleep before doing it all again the next day.
“I want to get on the GB squad, I want to win medals and I want to make it as a professional fighter.
“What I didn’t want to be was one of those people who look back and wonder, what if?
“Had I not come back to boxing, I would always have regretted it.
“I’m determined to succeed and I always feel the bigger the dream, the bigger the sacrifices you have to make to make it come true.”
Masoud is currently looking for a sponsor. Anyone interested can either contact Wellington Boxing Club or Masoud directly by email at shabazmasoud@icloud.com
