|
In April 2011 Rola El Halabi was
an undefeated Lightweight boxer
(11-0, 6 KOs), waiting in a
dressing room to enter the ring
for a world championship fight,
when her nightmare began.
Estranged from a dominating
stepfather who previously ran
her career and life, she was on
the threshold of making a
statement by fighting and
winning on her own.
But she never made it to the
ring that night. Her world
crashed down around here when
Roy Hicham El Halabi entered the
dressing room and ordered
everyone else to leave, before
proceeding to barbarically shoot
his stepdaughter in hands, knees
and feet.
El Halabi was rushed to
hospital, and an almost certain
end to a promising boxing career
was not as much a concern as the
possible loss of her life. While
doctors later established that
her life would be saved, it very
much looked as if her days as an
athlete were over.
But the Lebanese-born German
proved to be a greater fighter
than anyone in the boxing world
could have imagined, and on
Saturday (Jan. 12) she will
return to the ring and fight
Italian Lucia Morelli for the
vacant WBF World Lightweight
title, on a show she is herself
promoting in the city of Neu
Ulm, just across the Donau river
from hometown Ulm.
Roy Hicham will not be able to
stop her this time! He is
serving a six-year prison
sentence in Berlin, while Rola
is in the process of one of the
most amazing comebacks in recent
memory. After several operations
and months of being confined to
a wheelchair, she decided that
the actions of a mad-man would
not keep her from achieving her
dreams.
She was going to turn the
nightmare into a fairytale!
“I didn’t want to give up on
boxing”, 27-year-old El Halabi
recently told German newspaper
Die Welt. “April 1 2011 was not
a highlight, but it gave me
strength to fight, and keep
fighting.”
Ironically, Roy Hicham wanted to
destroy Rola but ended up making
her a bigger star than ever.
Before the attack she was not
yet a big name in world boxing,
or even in Germany, but after
countless newspaper articles and
talk show appearances following
her recovery she is now very
well-known, something she
intends to use for good:
“I want to spread a message with
my story, to never give up no
matter what happens. The life I
had before April 2011 doesn’t
exist anymore, and I am reminded
every day when I look in the
mirror and see my scares. God
has a reason for everything that
happens.”
Some would say that returning to
the ring in a world title fight
against a quality opponent such
as former world champion Lucia
Morelli (17-3, 8 KOs) is biting
off more than El Halabi can
currently chew, but she is not
concerned about the outcome,
saying:
“I don’t worry about losing. If
things don’t go my way, my
career is not over. But it will
be expensive, as I have invested
a six-figure amount in the
event. But, on the other hand, a
boxing match is nothing compared
to what I have been through!”
The words of a true fighter, in
the ring and in life! |
