KID GALAHAD credits a chance 2003 meeting with Prince Naseem Hamed for his boxing career. As a kid living in Liverpool’s infamous Toxteth area, Galahad was not allowed out on the street because there were so many shootings. By the time he moved to Sheffield, the Yemeni scrapper was getting up to no good — […]
KID GALAHAD credits a chance 2003 meeting with Prince Naseem Hamed for his boxing career.
As a kid living in Liverpool’s infamous Toxteth area, Galahad was not allowed out on the street because there were so many shootings.
By the time he moved to Sheffield, the Yemeni scrapper was getting up to no good — until he met Naz.
Now, on Saturday, Galahad will go to war with Josh Warrington for the IBF featherweight world title at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
The man born as Abdul-Bari Awad, takes his current moniker from an Elvis Presley film.
Son of Yemeni parents, just like Naz, Galahad’s father served in the special forces and many of his extended family are still living in the war-torn country.
After moving to the UK at the age of four, the 29-year-old’s early years were tough.
He said: “We moved to Liverpool before a lot of Yemeni people moved there to work in the steelworks and we had a shop there. It was the exact same set-up that Naz had — a three-bedroom house and they lived above the shop.
There were so many shootings and things going on in the area that I was never even allowed outside
Kid Galahad
“It was my dad’s shop called Mo’s Grocery Store in Toxteth on High Park Street, next to a school called St Silas.
“There were 11 of us living in a three-bed house and there were crazy things happening outside.
“When I was around six and seven, there were so many shootings and things going on in the area that I was never even allowed outside.
“We just used to sit on our little doorstep and watch the gangs nick cars or whatever else they were doing.
“There was a pub across the road that was always lively with a fight or something else and we would just sit there and watch.”
It was at the age of 13, after moving to Sheffield, that Galahad met Hamed in a local gym.
After telling the former featherweight king that he wanted to become a world champ just like him, Galahad was pointed towards Brendan Ingle’s famous gym at Wincobank. And the rest is history.
But Galahad — unbeaten in 26 fights — admits without boxing normal life on the outside could have been history, too.
He said: “Without Brendan I would probably be locked up or doing something bad.
“I was from Toxteth in Liverpool and when I moved over to Sheffield, around 12, it was a big difference.
“I was getting up to things kids my age would never do and Brendan taught me right from wrong.”
In the opposite corner on Saturday will be IBF champ Warrington — himself brought up on a gritty council estate in Leeds where being able to fight was vital.
But Galahad, despite being the underdog, is confident he can turn his words to Hamed back in 2003 into reality.
He added: “Josh is on a high but when he boxed Lee Selby he was the underdog, 2018 was his year but 2019 will be my year.”
