Name: Amro Ghanem
Age: 24
Income: £24,000 – £27,000
Occupation: Professional boxer
When I arrived in London I couldn’t speak a word of English. Not even “hello”. Nothing.
I was 18, I’d been working for my dad’s restaurant in Milan and I wanted a new experience. My friend from home lived in London and he used to tell me how incredible it was. I was really bored and so I took my luggage and left.
I was so lost when I arrived at Stansted. To me, English sounded like Chinese. I only arrived with a few hundred pounds. I lived with my friend in east London for a while. I couldn’t find a job for a month. Finally I found a commis waiter role in a restaurant.
At the time, I had nothing else going on in my life. I used to get up, go to work, and sleep. It was so boring. Then one day on my lunch break, I saw a Gymbox. When I took a look in, there was an amazing Muay Thai team hitting pads and sparring. I used to do kickboxing when I was 15 but I wasn’t that serious about it. There and then I joined the gym and signed up to the Thai boxing team.
I fell in love with it. I never missed a session. I had felt alone but suddenly I found people to share things with. It was like finding a friend. I started training straight away, and any gap in between work, I’d be at the gym.
I was so unfit at the beginning. I started training a lot and the head coach said to me one day, “Do you want to fight?” I knew that’s what I wanted to do. He put me in competitions and I won my first nine amateur games.
After watching me progress, they offered to help me fight professionally. Over the past three years I’ve competed in eight fights, winning seven and drawing one, meaning I’m undefeated on a professional level across B class.
However, at one point I had a motorcycle crash and was out for 18 months. I have about four professional Thai boxing matches a year. I might make a couple of hundred pounds per fight. This year I’ve fought in Milan and London. I’d say I’m about 12 fights away from becoming a winner. I’m absolutely not stopping until I get the belt. In two to three years, I’ll make it.
Last year I quit the waiting job to become a self-employed Muay Thai coach. I teach 18 classes across nine gyms. I also have a studio near Holborn station and offer private fitness and boxing lessons. I make about £25,000 a year.
I live with my girlfriend in a one-bedroom flat in Bethnal Green in east London that costs about £1,700 a month including bills. Groceries are expensive because I am always out teaching. I might have a coffee, a sandwich at Pret, lunch at a cafe. I spend about £30 a day on food. It’s a lot. But after a hard day training the last thing I want to do is cook. I also spend £135 a month on a zone 1-2 Oyster card.
I love clothes. OMG, I love hats. I like supporting little brands too. I recently spent £200 on a tracksuit and pair of trainers for work. I spend just under £1,000 a year on clothes.
At the moment, I’m not saving. I don’t save unless I have a goal. I just can’t commit to saving. It’s really bad. But I’m only 24, so if I like a pair of trainers I’ll buy them. I won’t think, “Oh, I’ll save that £100 for another time”.
Sometimes I can’t believe how far I’ve come from that day I arrived in England. I think everything that’s happened has been because I’m committed. But anyone could do it. If you put in 100%, you’ll get there. I’m just happy because I did a positive thing with my life. It feels good.
I returned to Milan to fight in February, and when I was announced the winner and stepped out the ring, my dad was crying so hard, he couldn’t believe it. When I saw him crying, I couldn’t stop crying. I just kept crying and crying.
