At school, Asaad Touqan was so shy that he could barely raise his head to have any sort of conversation with his classmates. “I was scared to talk to girls and to people in general,” Touqan recalled.
“I had social anxiety and was never able to connect with other kids. I was a bit of a weird kid.”
That ‘weird kid’ eventually felt a beautiful connection with combat sports. He excelled initially in kickboxing and Muay Thai, winning multiple medals at national and international levels before shifting his focus to boxing.
Driven by the desire to be a trailblazer, the Dubai pugilist worked hard every single day to hone his skills after convincing his mother to ‘sign him up’ at a club.
That hard work paid off as the 19-year-old recently won the WBC Asia Youth super-middleweight title in Dubai, becoming the youngest Arab WBC champion and the first Jordanian-Palestinian fighter to clinch the WBC Asia title.
While he credits his Dubai-based coaches and sparring partners for helping him improve as a boxer, it was his determination to overcome challenges from a very young age that ultimately propelled him to success.
“I started boxing at eight. After two years, I began joining the adults’ classes at 10. Even though I was small, I was giving everyone a hard time,” he said.
“I would cry while boxing because I had so much passion for it. I was training with adults, so they would hit me, and I didn’t want to feel less than them. I would go to war with them. That’s when people started noticing: ‘This kid has heart; he can fight.’”
Family background
Touqan, who is also the youngest ICB (Influencer Championship Boxing) champion, then revealed why winning the WBC Asia Youth super-middleweight title in Dubai was so special.
“I was supposed to fight for it in Saudi Arabia, but I said no — I wanted to do it in Dubai because this country has given me so much and I’ll always proudly represent it,” he said.
While he is proud to have earned his big win in his adopted home, Dubai, Touqan said his family background worked as a catalyst for his boxing passion.
“My uncles were all in Special Forces, Interpol, and the military in Jordan. I come from a tough background where it’s cool to be tough,” he said.
“As a kid, I was put into karate classes for self-defence, so that may have sparked something, but I didn’t enjoy it much until I got into real competitions and achievements. Then it became a real part of my life.”
But turning pro as a boxer was a battle that was not really easy to win. “When I turned professional, both my parents were against it initially. That’s when passion turns into a pursuit, and it gets dangerous — there are deaths in boxing, brain damage, all of that,” he said.
“I convinced my dad to see it as a branding and networking opportunity. I told him I’d use it to build a name for myself, not take the raw and brutal route but a smarter one.
“My mother, on the other hand, now takes pride in it, but she never watches. She comes to my fights, looks at the floor, and just makes dua and prays for me. She’s a strong woman. She has four brothers, all of whom were in the military, so she’s used to this.
“They used to go to war — fighting in a ring isn’t as significant in comparison. But she still gets very nervous. She always asks about my sleep, my training, everything. When she’s at the fights, she’s just praying. She doesn’t want to see me get hurt.”
Earning respect
Inspired by Muhammad Ali’s life philosophy of being honest and truthful, Touqan hopes to leave his own footprint in a sport that saw his idol deliver some of the greatest moments in history.
“In terms of boxing itself, I want to achieve more. I want to be a recognised name — a name to remember. I want to leave my footprint in the sport and make a real difference,” he said.
“But the end goal is bigger than just being a boxer. I want to make a name for myself so that in any industry I choose — real estate, production, acting, whatever it may be — I have enough of a name to do whatever I want and be successful at it.
“Being a boxer gives you so much respect. When you’re in the ring and people are watching you knock someone out, it earns you respect instantly. They look at you eye to eye. They don’t look down on you.
“That’s the main reason I’m pursuing this. I don’t come from a rich family. I don’t have something of value ready-made to offer people. This is a way to make myself worth speaking to, worth respecting. It’s the same purpose I had in school — just at a higher level now.”
It’s quite a turnaround for a boy who was once too shy and too afraid to talk to his classmates.
Source: Khaleej Times