IT’S LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT

Bahrain’s ascent towards becoming a global boxing force continues as the Bahrain Boxing Club won its first international title after a thrilling victory for Marcus Davies in Vancouver, Canada last month.

It wasn’t his only victory of the night either, as he won his girlfriend’s hand in marriage after an emotional proposal in the middle of the ring.

The Sechelt-born fighter won the British Columbia middleweight title by defeating Tyson Gemby, stopping him in the fourth round with a barrage of punches. He was trained by Bahrain Boxing Club (BHBC) head coach and founder Tariq Abdulrahman, who becomes the first GCC coach to win an international title.

Abdulrahman said: “I’m extremely proud of Marcus and how he affiliated with the Bahrain Boxing Club and won the title in our name. We’re continuing to land knockout punches around the world despite starting out as a tiny club in Janabiya!”

Abdulrahman first met Davies at a small boxing club in Canada last year. His wife, Kelly, had moved back to her native country from Bahrain for a brief time and Abdulrahman followed. In his downtime, he found a boxing club to train while he was away, with the hope of making contacts.

“As soon as I met Marcus, I knew he had a lot of potential in him. However, he wasn’t receiving any attention or nurturing, so I told him that I would be coming back to Canada soon and I’d train him,” Abdulrahman explained.

“The day I landed, I went to the gym and he asked me to train him. The title fight opportunity came up and we had three months to prepare. I offered him a different training style than he was used to, which was far more technical. It was six days a week of strength and conditioning, fitness and other skills. He both loved it and hated it!”

Davies was not affiliated with any club, so he decided to proudly represent Bahrain Boxing Club in honour of his new coach. He was a huge underdog going into the fight, with Gemby far more experienced and even appearing on national TV alongside his promoter and title belt to talk about the fight.

In fact, Davies wasn’t even mentioned at all in the promotional interview, which stoked a fire in his belly that wouldn’t burn out until his opponent was on the ropes and the referee put a stop to the fight.

However, the real fireworks came after the bout when Davies proposed to his long-term girlfriend, Kristina Rampuri, who tearfully accepted.

Davies explained: “The engagement was planned the day I took the fight, so I had three months to get it right. I was going to do it win or lose, but I think it would have lost a little romance had I been beaten!”

“Tariq knew about it, and whilst he thought I was crazy and had enough on my plate, he gave me the confidence to plan it out.

“The feeling when I won the title was absolutely amazing, definitely one of my greatest accomplishments and a pure high. Kristina saying yes was the icing on the cake!”

Davies only started boxing at the age of 26, having previously had six months of experience in kickboxing. 18 months later, he is a regional champion after bouncing back from three straight defeats and changing his style, something he attributes to Abdulrahman.

He said: “Tariq’s coaching has taken me to whole new levels. He teaches me like Cus D’Amato taught Mike Tyson! He frequently tells me how good I’m doing and what I’m doing right. Many coaches go the opposite way and rag on you, telling you what you need to improve all the time. However, Tariq’s way builds confidence, and even if I didn’t have a good day, he tells me what I did right.

“The title fight was the first one where I never doubted myself because I knew how hard I had worked and what I was truly capable of. That’s all down to Tariq; the best thing he did was calm my brain and get rid of the nerves. I owe him a lot.”

As for the future, Davies will be visiting Bahrain in April to train with the up and coming fighters in the BHBC. He also hopes to secure a national title as he continues to improve in the prime of his career.

Abdulrahman will be taking five fighters from Bahrain to join three others in Canada, where together they will take part in a series of exhibition matches. Furthermore, he is delighted to welcome Khumiso Ikgopoleng, who competed for Botswana at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics before becoming his country’s head coach at the 2012 games, as a BHBC coach from January 1.

Abdulrahman said: “The BHBC continues to grow all the time. It’s a very professional and welcoming club; it really doesn’t matter what skill level you are at. We urge anyone who has ever held an interest in boxing to come down and try a session. Who knows, you could become a champion too!”