Akbar is set to make his professional boxing debut on May 10, at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.
At 26 years old, Akbar has already had a long and distinguished amateur career, winning multiple titles and fighting 198 times in the amateur scene.
- He narrowly missed out on last summer’s Paris Olympic Games
- He is now looking forward to the next stages of his career
Akbar, who is training at Sheffield’s renowned Steel City Gym, said: “I don’t think there is ever a right time to step into professional boxing. For me, I was chasing the Olympics for a long time, but I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be at this point in my journey. If I went into the professional ranks earlier in my career, then I feel like I’d have missed out on what would have been a brilliant turn for my amateur career.”
- He had 198 amateur fights
- He became IBA European Champion
- He thinks there’s nothing that anyone in the professional game will do that he hasn’t seen before
Akbar’s decision to go professional was a long time coming and he admitted that a change in direction has given him a new lease of life. He said: “I wasn’t blessed enough to qualify for Paris, but training now at Steel City in Sheffield has brought my love for boxing back because it’s a great working environment. Everyone that I’ve met there – the coach, the boxers and the people that help with the camps like nutritionists – they’ve helped me to fall in love with the sport again.”
| Training Camp | Duration | Location |
| Current Training Camp | Grueling | Steel City Gym, Sheffield |
Akbar, who fights in the super welterweight division, has chosen Frank Warren’s Queensbury as his promoter. He said: “Queensbury is the biggest name in the game. Any five versus five events against different promotions – Queensbury always come out on top. They’ve got a lot of the top prospects and, although I respect the other promoters and their boxers, I feel like Queensbury build you better as a professional fighter and get you the better fights.”
Responding to whether he’s caught up with legendary Queensbury promoter, Frank Warren, since signing the deal, Akbar joked: “We’ll see him on the big stage on May 10 and hopefully we’ve got a win to talk about.”
Akbar believes the change in style will actually benefit him in the long run. He said: “Compared to other boxers, I don’t tend to throw hundreds of punches per round, so I can use that to my advantage. Each punch I throw will mean more now and I can be more strategic in how I throw them, so it suits my style to the ground. I think I’ll shine a lot more because of it.”
Akbar’s opponent hasn’t been confirmed yet, but he’s continuing to put in the hard work. He said: “The training in the professional game is a lot longer than what I’m used to, but the pace of the fighting is actually a lot slower, which was probably the hardest thing to get to terms with when switching the codes. Professional fighting is a lot more methodical and you have to take a step back to analyse your opponent more, so that’s been the hardest thing to get used to.”
Akbar is looking forward to his debut, saying: “I’m just excited now because it’s been a long time coming. Myself and the people around me have been expecting this moment for so long and I just want to get in there now to shine under the lights. Of course, it’s on a big show which makes the occasion even more special. One of the lads I train with at Steel, Dalton Smith, he also made his debut on May 10 six years ago at the Motorpoint Arena, and here I am six years later making the exact same debut. It’s a full circle moment for us guys.”
Akbar is coached by Grant Smith, father of Dalton Smith, at Steel Gym, and he’s loving every minute of working under the experienced trainer. He said: “Grant’s boxing knowledge is unbelievable; I’ve seen nothing like it. I’m very blessed to have known him for over ten years now because me and Dalton used to spar as amateurs quite a lot. As a coach, he’s fantastic and is reading of the sport is second to none. I’m loving every second of working under him.”
Akbar has big plans for the future, saying: “I want to be under the lights winning title fights. I won almost every title as an amateur boxer, so I want to do the same in the professional game.
