Bilal Akkawy: “I believe that if I hit anybody clean, I will hurt them”

SUPER middleweight prospect Bilal Akkawy is out to prove he is more than a one-trick pony.

The humble and unassuming Akkawy (13-0-1, 11 KOs) faces what is without question the toughest test of his fledgling professional career when he defends his WBA Oceania super middleweight bauble against former European middleweight champion Kerry Hope (23-8, 2 KOs) at Sydney’s Club Punchbowl on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the nervous energy that accompanies the high-profile challenge, the 23-year-old speaks with a quiet confidence about the challenge at hand.

“This fight is the biggest fight of my career,” said Akkawy to Aus-Boxing. “Kerry Hope is a former European and WBO Oriental champion and has just come off a points loss to India’s 2012 Olympic representative and 2014 Commonwealth Games Silver medallist Vijender Singh. He is very experienced and is still in his prime.”

“We have been training for a southpaw and have been doing a lot of sparring mainly with southpaws. My sparring partners have included Blake Caparello, Tej Singh, Daniel Geale and Jai Opetaia. I have had a lot of solid rounds with these guys and it has been a great camp.”

In Hope, 34, Akkawy is not only facing a seasoned veteran, but a crafty southpaw that has shared the ring with former IBF middleweight champion Darren Barker as well as former world title challengers Caleb Truax and Grzegorz Proksa, the latter of whom he beat to earned the coveted European middleweight title in 2012.

However, with all the credibility that surrounds the resume of Hope, Akkawy believes he holds an ace up his sleeve in the form of his punching power. Although he is yet to face someone of Hope’s calibre, Akkawy has an unwavering faith in his ability to render opponents unconscious. And while he is unsure if Hope can withstand his punch, he is confident in his ability to hurt any man.

“I believe that if I hit anybody clean, I will hurt them,” he explained. “Whether I knock them out or not; I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter because we always prepare for the distance of the full fight.”

It is worth noting that Akkawy will be the first Australian to face Hope in over two years since the well-travelled Welshman relocated to Brisbane in 2014.

Many fighters have touted Hope as a possibility opponent, but none have made it to the position that Akkawy presently finds himself in, with the fight now only a matter of days away. To Akkawy, his aspirations in the sport go well beyond Sunday afternoon and these are the types of challenges he will continue to seek out in the immediate future.

“I dream of climbing to the elite levels of boxing and one day fighting the very best in the world in my division,” he concluded. “I’m now at a point in my career where I am ready to fight anybody that my management places in front of me as I know it will be pushing me in the direction of accomplishing my dream.”

“My team (consisting of father Mick and uncle Al) felt like this was a good next fight and so I just got myself into the gym and did the hard work required.”