Bilal Fawaz: An English boxing champion without a British passport
The conversation of a taxi ride is the beating heart of English conversation; It is the soundtrack to thousands of journeys across London and beyond.
On Sunday, a passenger might look at the driver in the rearview mirror and ask the usual question: “Have a nice weekend, buddy? Did you do more?”
For Bilal Fawaz, 37, the answer may be a little different from the usual traffic complaints or comments about drizzling rain.
“I became British champion. And then I drove this Uber,” he plans to say, using the same casual tone he might use when discussing a bottleneck on the Northern Circular.
But before that talk can happen, Fawaz must first get things done in Nottingham this Saturday, where he challenges Ishmael Davis for the prestigious British light-middleweight title.
In boxing, the story of the “working class hero” – the athlete who still struggles from nine to five – is a great marketing hook. But according to Fawaz, there is no romance in this grind.
“I’m an Uber driver. I’m a personal trainer. I’m a fitness instructor. I’m a professional boxer. That’s four jobs,” he told BBC Sport during fight week.
“The day I got here I was doing Uber. I was training clients before I left London. I pay for the car every week with a subscription and if I don’t work the money goes away and nothing comes in.”
“After the fight on Sunday, while the kids are asleep, I’ll get in the car, make £70 or £80, park, sleep, drop them off at the nursery and train the clients again.”
Fawaz is outspoken and thoughtful, with a theatrical flair that reflects his time in acting school.
But underlying this balance lie challenges far greater than night shifts or 10-round fights. His struggle had begun long before Nottingham; a childhood filled with abuse, years in the care system and a life spent trying to prove that he belonged.
BBC Sport first told Fawaz’s story in 2018, covering it again in 2022, but he still remains in limbo as a British champion without a passport.
