Said Ouali

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Said Ouali (born May 24, 1979 in Agadir, Morocco) is a Belgian professional boxer at welterweight. His nicknames include "Prince", "The Crowd Pleaser" and "The Maaseik Sledgehammer" (Dutch: "De Moker van Maaseik").

Early life

Ouali was born in the Moroccan city of Agadir, but his family moved to Belgium when he was only a few months old.[1] The Ouali family ended up in the city of Maaseik, where Said and his brother Mohammed were educated in a strict Catholic school. At the age of fourteen he ended up in the local boxing circuit, where he would also meet his current girlfriend of 14 years, An Colson. They also have a son, called Benjamin.

Early career

Not seeing any future in his Belgian boxing career, the then 20-year old Said decided to take up boxing in the United States. In April 2000 he arrived at Newark, New Jersey, where he started the first phase of his American boxing career. As an amateur, he racked up an impressive 80-3 record (56 KO) in 83 bouts.

Professional career

Ouali fought his first professional bout on November 24, 2000.[2] He then enlisted with Mayweather Productions, the most prestigious[citation needed] boxing academy in the States, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. His current record is 27-3 (19 KO). Ouali has claimed in an interview[3] that his most prestigious victory was that against Argentine boxer Hector Saldivia, who saw his 33-0 flawless win streak brought to an abrupt end.

Versus Randall Bailey & IBF Welterweight Championship

The most highly publicized fight in Ouali's career was the December 12, 2010 bout against Randall Bailey. The fight ended in a second round no-contest when Ouali was thrown out of the ring by Bailey after taking some critical shots to the body and the fight could not continue.[4] Ouali is also set up to face Slovenian powerhouse Jan Zaveck for the IBF Welterweight Championship at a later date.

Jackson Bonsu controversy

Ouali has openly criticized fellow Belgian welterweight, Jackson Osei Bonsu (nickname "Sugar Jackson") in Flemish media, calling him a "clubber" with little variation in his boxing style. He proclaims Jackson should never use his nickname in the United States, as it would be considered a "disgrace".

References

  1. ↑ All of these facts derived from an interview with Belgian radio & TV magazine Humo, edition nr. 3666.
  2. ↑ http://www.boxnews.com.ua/en/Boxer/11437/Said-Ouali
  3. ↑ The Humo interview mentioned earlier.
  4. ↑ http://www.boxnews.com.ua/en/news/8061/2010-12-11/Randall-Bailey-Said-Ouali-Controversial-Ending-in-Two
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