A TEN-year-old boxing prodigy from Southall said he wants to be world champion someday.
Bilal Safari, who attends Dormers Wells Junior School, has been boxing since the age of six and has shown a natural gift for the sport.
He said: "I like boxing. My favourite things about it are sparring and training and one day I want to be the world champion."
Bilal, who currently trains at Dale Youth Boxing Club, said he became inspired after seeing his hero, world champion Manny Pacquiao in action.
He has already taken part in several fights and has acquired an impressive collection of trophies and certificates.
A video of him in action on YouTube has also proved a big hit and has racked up more than 120,000 hits.
One of his top accolades was when he was named ‘Best Boxer’ at the Golden Ring Gym Show in Southampton in December 2011.
His father Zaher said: "All the family are so proud of him. Bilal loves boxing and he has a natural gift for it. I used to box myself when I lot younger before I came to the UK from Afghanistan in 1999, but obviously I’m a bit old for it now. It's great that Bilal looks up to Manny Pacquiao. He does a lot of good work outside of boxing and is a great role model for young people."
Mr Bilal said that sport and exercise is a big part of his son’s life as he also swims and runs during the week, in addition to the three days he spends training at the boxing club.
"Bilal shows that it’s better for children to avoid doing bad things and spend their time focussed on something productive like sport. His education is also really important to him too."
Neill Handley, deputy headteacher at Dormers Wells said: "We as a school are immensely proud of Bilal’s focus and drive. We hope that he will continue achieve and aspire to be a world champion one day."
