Ibrahim Balla

Ibrahim and his brother Qamil maintain an active social media presence through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. The Team Balla sites are located under @ballaboysboxing .

Team

Ibrahim was selected to represent Australia at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The Australian Olympic boxing team included notable current professional boxers WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn , Damien Hooper, Australian team captain Luke Jackson, Cameron Hammond and ibrahim's roommate Jai Opetaia.

Event

In the round of 32 Ibrahim faced Aboubakr Seddik Lbida, beating the Moroccan on a count back. In the second round, the round of 16, Ibrahim went down in a close fight to Bulgarian Detelin Dalakliev 14–10.[8]

Photograph link – Ibrahim Balla Vs Abou Bakr Seddik Lbida – (27 July 2012 – Source: Scott Heavey/Getty Images Europe)

Ibrahim won his first professional title on 25 June 2014 against Akrapong Nakthaem[11] of Thailand at The Melbourne Pavilion Flemington. Nakthaem went down in rounds 1 & 2 with Ibrahim being declared the winner by TKO in round 2.

Ibrahim won his second professional title in his first 10-round bout on 7 August 2015 against experienced Filipino boxer Roberto Lerio.[12] Ibrahim won by unanimous points decision with the judges cards reading 100–90, 97–93 and 98–92.

On 18 March 2016 Ibrahim went up a weight class to face fellow Australian Emanuel Micallef.[13] The fight was stopped 1.47 into the second round after a second knockdown with Ibrahim declared the winner by TKO.

On 11 June 2016 Ibrahim experienced his first professional defeat at the hands of Filipino boxer Neil John Tabanao[14] at Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo. Ibrahim had a disrupted training camp and weighed in over the featherweight limit of 126-pounds.

The fight was split on the judges' scorecards when Balla walked into a hard uppercut in the third round, followed by another. The referee took a long hard look at Balla and waved off the contest to save him from further punishment.

"I wasn’t at my best, mentally or physically for that fight," admits Balla. "You can make up a million excuses as to why you lost, but as a professional fighter I think the best way to look at it is he's beaten me, move on from there and become a better fighter."

"I try to make no excuses. I lost fair and square."[15]

On 19 August 2017 Ibrahim took on former WBC world title challenger Silvester Lopez,[16] who recently took Tasmanian featherweight contender Luke Jackson the distance. In this fight Balla put on a boxing masterclass and boxed superbly. His jab was sharp and accurate, his body shots were on-point and he moved fluidly around the ring. "I thought I executed our game plan really well, with a little bit more sticking of the jab and setting everything up from there. A little bit of foot movement as well, which worked really well against Lopez. I was expecting a tough fight from him. He fought for a world title so he had a lot of ability and experience to him. I knew he was going to come out and try and focus on left hooking and body punching as that’s his strength. I was able to take away his strengths and use them against him."[15]

In August 2017, it was announced that Ibrahim would fight the tough undefeated Tanzanian boxer Salimu Jengo "Mtango"[17] (9–0, 6 KOs) for the vacant WBA Oceania Featherweight title at the Function Centre, Melbourne Park on 21 October. Ibrahim won the fight by unanimous points decision over 10 solid rounds.

In a post fight interview Ibrahim said "I'm feeling pretty good right about now," "I know that we’ve put a lot of hard work in throughout this year, so it’s very rewarding and satisfying right now."[18]

Ibrahim had to overcome a number of cuts caused by head clashes throughout the bout that left him needing 15 stitches.

"We had a few headclashes," said Balla, who ended the contest with an inch long cut over his left eye. "Mtango was an awkward customer. But my team did a great job stopping the bleeding so it didn't worry me too much."[19]

12-month plan: "In twelve months' time I want to crack the top ten in the world. I want to have a serious opportunity, even be fighting for a world title. I just need the actual sparring experience. With my amateur record I've been all around the world – fighting world champions, Olympic gold medallists – but the seasoning really happens in the sparring in the gym. I believe I have the talent to not just mix it with the best but to beat the best. I just feel like a couple more fights and a little bit more experience and I'll be at that level."[15]