Coach Azou: “Boxing is like life”
Sitting in the middle of the ring, his gaze sharp and his chest still sweating, witnessing his English boxing session, Coach Azou looks with pride at his boxing club.
When we ask him to describe the beginnings of Yakaar Boxing Clubhe smiles before mentioning an installation that was more complicated than expected.
“Here, at the base, it was an empty space, it was a pétanque court,” he remembers.
“We started the work, it took around six months, the time to set up the building and equip it. It was a rush, because we had already started the activities. There was no roof, no equipment, but we still trained in the open air. The passion we have for this sport, for this discipline, meant that without equipment, without comfortable space, we could work and do something. »
On the wall, a huge mural made up of boxers in action looks down on Coach Azou’s students. This afternoon, she seems to inspire them not to give up, the rhythm of their fists intensely smashing the punching bags in the room.
Coach Azou appreciates this working atmosphere where no one is reluctant to make an effort. For him, boxing is more than a sport, it is a vector of education for Senegalese youth.
« Boxing is like life. If I take the example of this room, initially, it was complicated. I was getting beaten up, it was complicated. Left, right. »
“I saw what boxing could bring to my life and I started from that to tell myself that boxing could be a tool to attract young people and offer them educational support behind it. »
