Ismail Sillah, whose biography is described in this article, is a Ukrainian boxer. Silver medalist of the World Cup and European Championship in 2005 and 2006. This is one of the most gifted representatives of boxing. Participates in light heavyweight competitions. He claimed the title of World Champion in WBO. He took patronage over the Mariupol orphanage.
A family
Ismail Sillah was born on February 9, 1985 in Ukraine, in Zaporozhye, in a student family. His mother is Ukrainian, studied at a medical university. Father is an African from Sierra Leone. At that time he came to the USSR to receive education. Ismail's mother and father got married, but did not live long in marriage.
They went into business: they bought things that were scarce at that time (jeans, electronics, etc.) and resold them. The goods were brought by the head of the family. Having left once again for Great Britain, he never returned.
Ismail has two brothers - the eldest and younger. First, the father supported the ex-wife and children with money, and then disappeared altogether. As it turned out later, he started a new family in the UK. When Ismail was 7 years old, he moved with his mother and brothers to Mariupol, where his grandparents lived (on the maternal side).
How it all began
He became interested in boxing from the age of six, when for the first time he and his older brother watched one of the fights. When the family moved to Mariupol, my grandmother took her grandchildren to the sea. On the way, they met the building of the sports complex. The sea for children immediately lost its appeal. Grandmother understood this and took them to the sports complex.
There they met for the first time with their future coach V.V. Klenin. He liked the boys, he invited them to practice. Grandmother tried to dissuade her grandchildren from boxing. Offered to go to the gym. But the guys have already chosen their path in sports.
Training helped Ismail at school. Due to the unusual color of his skin, he was often teased and bullied by his peers. But thanks to sports, Ismail Sillah quickly gained good physical shape and was able to fight back, after which the attacks on him stopped.
Education
Ismail graduated from elementary high school. Then he entered the Donetsk National University at the Faculty of Economics. Learned to be a marketer. But he did not want to make a career in this field, choosing a sport for himself.
Amateur career
In 2002, Ismail Sillah was able to win a silver medal at the European Championship in the category of 15 to 16 years old (juniors). And a year later he brought home two "gold" from the Cadet European Championships and World Cup. From 2002 to 2003 Ismail took part in junior fights twice, but both times lost in the quarterfinals.
He became the Champion of Ukraine only in 2004, when he was 19 years old. In the weight category up to 75 kg, Ismail was able to defeat V. Pyatetsky at the very beginning of the match. Since 2005, earned "silver" and firmly entrenched in the adult Ukrainian team.
The athlete quickly became a leader, a series of his victories began. One of the largest is silver in 2006 at the European Boxing Championship in Plovdiv. In 2008, the second time I was able to win a ticket to the Olympic Games. The first time he lost to the American C. Downs. But the second time he won, winning the Istanbul qualification tournament.
The amateur career of Ismail Sillah consists of 318 fights. In the vast majority (302) of fights, he won. I could not win the medal only 16 times. The rivals with whom the fights were held included many famous boxers: Chudinov, Bursak, Beterbiev and others.
Discrimination
After receiving a ticket to the Olympic Games, Ismail Sillah was on a par with applicants for the “gold”, but did not pass the doping test and was disqualified for two years. AIBA revoked his license. Ismail himself said in an interview that he had not taken any illegal drugs. The commission hinted at a certain amount, but he refused to pay it. And as a result, he was framed during a doping test.
Professional career
Sillah did not wait for the expiration of the disqualification and moved to professional boxing in 2008, signing a contract with I. Gottsev. The first fight in this category took place in July of the same year in Los Angeles. Ismail sent the opponent M. Helvorsen to the knockout in the 1st round.
He trained under the guidance of the famous S. Suluki. Ismail Sillah, whose fights began to really impress, moved to a high pace. Only in the first half of the year he created a track record with 11 victorious battles. Although there were no famous fighters in it yet.
Soon Ismail's talent was revealed in full force. In April 2010, he was able to knock out American D. Jude and received the NABF Champion of North America title. In 2012 and 2013 He defeated the Russians D. Grachev and K. Piternov.