The small discuss of a taxi trip is the beating coronary heart of British chit-chat – a soundtrack to hundreds of journeys throughout London and past.
On Sunday, a passenger would possibly look on the driver within the rear view mirror and ask the standard: “Good weekend, mate? Get up to much?”
For 37-year-old Bilal Fawaz, the reply may very well be a little totally different than the standard site visitors complaints or remarks in regards to the drizzle.
“I became a British champion. And then I drove this Uber,” he plans to say, utilizing the identical informal tone he would possibly use to debate a bottleneck on the North Circular.
But for that dialog to occur, Fawaz should first deal with enterprise this Saturday in Nottingham, the place he challenges Ishmael Davis for the distinguished British light-middleweight title.
In boxing, the story of the “working-class hero” – the athlete who nonetheless clocks in for a nine-to-five – is a nice advertising and marketing hook. But for Fawaz, there isn’t a romanticism within the grind.
“I’m an Uber driver. I’m a personal trainer. I’m a fitness instructor. And I’m a professional boxer. That’s four jobs,” he tells BBC Sport in combat week.
“I was doing Uber the day I came here. I trained clients before I left London. I pay for the car on a subscription every week and if I don’t work, money goes out and nothing comes in.
“So on Sunday after the combat, when the children are asleep, I’ll bounce within the automotive, make £70 or £80, park it, sleep, drop them to nursery and practice purchasers once more.”
Fawaz is articulate and thoughtful, with a hint of theatrical flair that reflects his time at acting school.
But beneath that poise lie challenges far heavier than night shifts or 10-round fights. His fight began long before Nottingham – a childhood marked by abuse, years in the care system and a life spent proving he belongs.
BBC Sport first instructed Fawaz’s story in 2018, revisited it in 2022, and but he stays in limbo as an English champion nonetheless without a passport.
