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Bilal Akkawy, the 25-year-old Australian super middleweight and a sparring partner for Canelo Alvarez, will reportedly fight on the Canelo-Jacobs card on May 4 in Las Vegas.
Akkawy (19-0-1, 15 KO) worked with Alvarez before Canelo’s rematch with Gennady Golovkin last year, and is back in his camp again for the Jacobs fight.
He speaks highly of working with Alvarez and trainer Eddy Reynoso:
“It’s a great satisfaction when someone like that — one of the biggest names in boxing — acknowledges your talent. It’s a great feeling, it’s a massive confidence booster. You feel like all your hard work over all those years — like the last six, seven years — it kind of like, ‘Alright, it’s started to paid off.’ At least someone acknowledges it.”
Akkawy is ranked in the top 10 by the WBA and IBF, and is hoping to get a title shot. He came to the U.S. for a pair of fights in 2018, beating Cristian Olivas on the Thursday before Canelo-GGG II, and then Victor Fonseca on the Canelo-Fielding undercard on Dec. 15. He also scored a win over former WBA secondary titleholder Giovanni de Carolis in Feb. 2018 in Australia.