Twenty-two-year-old Ibraheem Sulaimaan has been given the opportunity to make his professional debut on one of the biggest stages in world boxing in his hometown of Birmingham. The Man known as ‘Spider’ will be turning over as a pro on Matchrooms promotions Birmingham show with Gamal Yafai headlining it. The show will be held at the Utilita Arena Birmingham on the 19th of August and it will be streamed live around the world by DAZN.
Sulaimaan had over sixty fights as an amateur winning four National titles, a British title, and also an East Midlands gold medal. ‘Spiders' style and skills made him the talk of Birmingham and his turnover to the professional ranks has been highly anticipated for a while. He is trained by Sylvain Loning and Asgar Tair and informed me his agent is Birmingham Grime Artist Jaykae.
My first question to ‘Spider’ was what had inspired him to turn over to the Pros. He informed me “I’ve been boxing seriously since the age of 7 so I want to show the world what I’m about and what I’ve learned over the years”. I then asked this talent fighter; how did you feel when you were told you would be making your debut on such a big show. He told me “I was buzzing when I got the news, I knew all the hard work over the years would pay off”. I then asked him how his training had gone for this fight. He told me “Training is going very well, I’ve stepped it up a level and I cannot wait to showcase my skills on August 19”.
Spider finished by saying “Stay tuned August 19 pro debut”.
I caught up with his agent Grime Artist Jaykae who had this to say about the talented hot prospect. He said "I met Spider when he was a kid, and got to know about his boxing when he was around 16/17. My good mate is close with his family and started helping him properly in 2019. I paid for his strength and condition and meal prep, Reebok. at the time I was sponsored by reebok so started kitting him out with Gymshark and also helped out early. More recently we built a relationship with Boxraw, he had an aim to win the Nationals as a senior and he did so. He then wanted to join GB and go for the Commonwealth Games but wasn’t selected after beating the number 1 GB seed so he decided to turn pro. I think he can go all the way, on his day I think he can beat anyone. It’s just about slowly progressing him now and from a 4-round to eventually a 12-round fighter in the next couple of years. Our aim is world titles. Most importantly enjoying it along the way. He can kick down doors for his little brothers who all box as amateurs. His debut is one not to be missed. Birmingham has a new superstar".
Dexter’s Thoughts
I have been told about Spider for quite a few years and a lot of coaches and fellow boxers in the know have raved about his skills. I have seen clips of him training and it looks like his slick style will suit the professional ranks. His style will be entertaining and I’m sure Sulaimaan with showcasing his talents on such a big stage and will get even more followers and fans. At the moment Birmingham has a lot of talented fighters coming through the ranks this year but ‘Spider’ could be the one that shines with his unorthodox and slick fighting style he has the potential to go all the way. But first, he needs to shine on his debut live on DAZN and show the world that Spider is the man. I am really looking forward to seeing his debut.