IT is not the size of the man; it is the size of the fight in him.
That’s what Fiji’s champion boxer Junior Farzan Ali said as he explained how his life had always been a daily fight against the odds to stay on top.
“Our family home is in Raiwaqa. We were poor and life from the start was a struggle. There were six of us, two brothers and four sisters and my father did not make that much,” Farzan said.
“It was probably the reason why I had to drop out of school.
“Following that, I joined my dad who was a market vendor and also hawking on the street. That’s when I realised that everyday life was a struggle, a fight which I had to win.
“Whether the struggle was mental or physical, the thought of giving up never crossed my mind.”
Farzan said this attitude of his had allowed him to carry on always remaining positive in life.
“Life is not an easy ride. It is perhaps harder on some of us as we had to learn hard difficult life can be in a very blunt manner,” he said.
The champion boxer said he started training when he was 10 years old. His father, Farzan Ali, was a boxer and had started teaching his sons.
According to the champ, this training prepared him for what life had to offer and all the challenges that came with it.
“I was 18 years old when I had my first professional fight.
“During those years, I travelled from Suva to Nadi to fight for a purse of $21, I would travel to Ba to fight for just $31.
“That was the state of boxing then. It has not changed that much but at least I am champion and I am getting a much healthier purse but it is getting tougher as age catches up on me.
“I am 35 years old and in boxing that is an age most boxers began to fade as the younger ones come into the ring. I have a fight against New Zealander Anthony Taylor who is the lightweight WBU champion.
“If I win this one, then I can prove that I belong on the world stage. Until then every day is a fight.”
Farzan knows only too well that he will not be able to fight all his life. He said he was slowly starting a business, something for him to fall back on after boxing.
The champion has 49 fights under his belt of which eight opponents were from abroad.
His favourite fights were against Filipino boxer Allan Jay which Farzan won on points and the fight against Ray Anton Ollart which ended in a draw.
