French Boxing Athlete Abdelelah aka “Abdou” Karroum speaks of his past, his boxing beginnings and why he moved to Singapore.
ABOUT ABDOU
I grew up in Corsica, a Mediterranean Island southeast of France. I was living in Monaco and I had an opportunity to move to Singapore and work with The Ring. I packed my bags, left everything behind and pursued a totally new experience. So far, there are no regrets! I am happy to work with the Team and eventually signed a long term contract with Red Glove Management.
OUTSIDE THE RING:
When I am not training or coaching at the Ring, I like to go shopping and try different activities. I like simple things and spending quality time with my girlfriend and group of friends. If I have more time, i love travelling! I love exploring a new country, meeting different people and experiencing different cultures.
LIFE BEFORE SINGAPORE
When I was young, I was not always an angel. I grew up with the wrong influence. Some of my peers ended in prison and some never found direction in their lives. One of my motivation is to become better and live my best life.
MY FIRST PASSION WAS MOTOCROSS, AN OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLE RACING.
I even competed a couple of times! It is physically demanding and very expensive to sustain! Unfortunately, my family had not enough funding so I stopped eventually. But I discovered my next passion, BOXING – and that turned out to be a lot cheaper! 🙂
Motocross and Boxing are different but somehow similar in a number of ways. Both sports are very competitive and it’s necessary to take a lot of risks to succeed. Both requires a lot of courage, optimal focus and most importantly the dedication to work hard.
I was working as a car mechanic like my father and brother in Corsica. I wanted to be more than a car mechanic and was always looking for opportunities. Until one day, I was asked to audition to join the National Boxing Team in Monaco. I was already training regularly but I trained harder for 3 months, 6 times per week, twice per day in preparation for this audition. After all the hard work , I qualified to join the National Boxing Team. It has changed my life, and brought me to where I am now.
