Aziz Abdul, the grandson of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, will face England's Damar Thomas in the Commonwealth Games super-heavyweight boxing competition in Glasgow on Wednesday. Abdul has vowed to rely on his 'Ringo punch' to win by knockout and become the 'new king of Scotland'.
Family legacy and confidence
Abdul, 25, known as 'Ringo', is open about his connection to Amin, who seized power in 1971, killed up to 500,000 people and expelled Uganda's Asian population before being deposed in 1979. Amin was an accomplished boxer, holding the Ugandan light-heavyweight title from 1951 to 1960.
'My grandfather's achievements inspired me,' Abdul said. 'He was a heavyweight boxer like myself, and I am so proud of him. Lions give back to lions. A lion cannot give back to a dog or a camel. A lion must resemble a lion. It is what it is. I am a real warrior. I am the son of the son.'
Abdul's ambition
Amin was also a self-proclaimed 'King of Scotland', a remark that inspired the Oscar-winning film The Last King of Scotland. Abdul hails from the same West Nile region as his grandfather and displays similar confidence despite facing Damar Thomas, a 21-year-old European youth champion aiming to become the fourth consecutive English winner of the +90kg title.
'I am very happy to be fighting the English fighter,' Abdul said. 'I have waited for this moment for three years. But now we are not in Africa, we are in Europe. As my grandpa used to say, you need to win by knockout, so that's what we have trained for and that's what I hope to do.'
Abdul added: 'I know the British heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, but my idol is Mike Tyson: the baddest man on the planet. If I win the gold medal, I will be the baddest man in the Commonwealth, the baddest man in Glasgow and the new king of Scotland.'
