Introducing Ziyad "Zizzo" Almaayouf

Set to make his pro debut, you may not have heard of him, but you’ll certainly know his trainer - James “Buddy” McGirt. And, if McGirt’s hunch is correct, you’ll soon be hearing about Ziyad “Zizzo” Almaayouf.

If you get McGirt to take a look at you, that is a good thing. If he agrees to train you, that is a good thing. if he says that he thinks you have an “amazing future”, that is a very good thing.  

Born in New York City in 2001, but raised in Egypt, he started boxing at the age of 11 and entered the ring for the first time as an amateur at age 15, wrapping up his amateur career with 17 fights. That isn’t a lot of fights, compared to the dozens, or hundreds, of fights that other amateur fighters have in other parts of the world. However, at that time there were no boxing gyms with proper equipment in Egypt. So, he was indeed faced with a lot of challenges in trying to train and box on a regular basis. He was set to make a run at representing Saudi, Arabia at the Tokyo Olympics but Covid closed that door and shut everything down. So, the pro’s it is.

Zizzo’s advisor, who works closely with McGirt, highly respected industry veteran Rachel Charles, was recently chatting with MaxBoxing and said, “This is really a super kid, he is full of passion and excitement, and he can’t wait to show the boxing world what he can do”, she said. “Buddy (McGirt) thinks he has an amazing future”.  

June 5, draped in Saudi colors, Zizzo will make his debut on an Ed Holmes card in Downtown LA. He is passionate, focused and excited to step into the ring for the first time as a professional. MaxBoxing caught up with him from his training base in Los Angeles to chat with the polite, well-spoken young man who is determined to bring boxing glory to his beloved Saudi, Arabia.

Bill Tibbs: Hi Zizzo, thanks for taking a minute to chat, I know you are busy.

Zizzo Almaayouf: Hi Bill, no problem. Let’s do it.

BT: Tell me a bit about where you are from and where you are currently.

ZA: I’m Saudi. I was born in New York but raised in Egypt. I lived there with my mom. My father worked a lot with his business in Saudi, Arabia so he would travel back and forth between the two places. I am currently living and training in Los Angeles and going to college, majoring in Psychology.

BT: How old are you?

ZA: I am 21.

BT: So how did you get into boxing?

ZA: In Egypt there are no specific boxing gyms. When we do sports there you go to a sports training centre where they are doing many different sports. I was taking tennis and focused on that. But, I would see the fighters training on the track where you run. There was no actual boxing gym or ring, they did mitts, shadow boxed, sparred, everything, on the track. I heard the way the coach would speak to them, the way they were intensely focused, the sound of the voice of the coach, everything. It was that level of adrenaline, that level of commitment that really attracted me to the sport. Of course, when I asked my parent’s permission they said, ‘No, boxing is dangerous’, so naturally they didn’t want me to do it. But, a while later my mom watched a movie about boxing, a popular movie back home. She came to me later, after she understood my passion more, and asked me if I still wanted to do it. So, I trained for a whole year, kind of behind my dad’s back as he was away a lot, back and forth for work. But, eventually we spoke about it and my father realized how passionate and committed I was.

BT: How did your father feel about you wanting to take a shot at a sport in which it is so hard to achieve success, especially where you come from?

ZA: His attitude, like mine, as he taught me, is that the only way you will fail is if you quit. Whatever you have to do, that is what you do. You work as hard as you have to and you don’t stop. You never, ever stop working and trying. Just don’t quit and one day you will make it, if you are willing to put in the work. 

BT: Are there many amateur shows there? Is it hard to stay motivated to train when you don’t have fights coming up?

ZA: There are only fights 2 times per year; the State and National tournaments. They don’t have boxing cards there they just have tournaments, 2 times a year. Really, over there, the boxers are training just to be warriors, fighters, because there are not a lot of boxing shows to be training for. It is not like in the United States where young fighters are training their whole life to turn pro one day and win a world title. They are groomed for this their entire life, but in the Arab world nobody thinks that is even a possibility. It is a very different mentality over there towards the sport. Here, when a young kid ends up working with a famous trainer or training at a famous gym, it is something they have been working towards their whole life. Back home, that isn’t even thought of as a possibility, it is like a dream. In Egypt, you are really only boxing for bragging rights.

BT: What took you to LA?

ZA: Growing up, all boxers there would see famous gyms like the Wild Card or Buddy McGirt’s Gym in LA or Mayweather’s gym in Las Vegas. And, I thought that every great boxer goes to LA as that is where the best fighters in the world train. I was training with my former coach, getting ready for the California Golden Gloves, but that was shut down because of Covid. The gym closed, but we just kept working, we were working out in his garage. One day he says, ‘We should go to a real gym’. I said, ‘Are there any open right now? Where should we go?’ He said, ‘We’ll go to McGirt’s gym. I was like, ‘What? This is crazy’ (laughing), as I had always studied Buddy McGirt and loved his style and his excellent jab. He was a 2-time world champion, and he had such great skills and I always used to study him and here I was going to his gym. I couldn’t believe it. He saw me working and he came and spoke to me about my jab, then eventually we spoke about other things, and it kind of started there. So, my goal was to get to LA and go to school and train here.

BT: How did you feel when you first came over here as a boxer?

ZA: Everything I had learned that I thought was so developed and I was so good at, I realized just how far behind I was compared to kids here who had been raised in a boxing culture. They had all the good equipment we didn’t have; they had all the access to gyms and fights cards and being part of the whole boxing culture that is so huge. I was so far behind, I had to work 2 times as hard, 3 times as hard, to get the same results as I was behind them at that stage. But it is that law of attraction, work harder than everyone else and don’t quit.

BT: How did your former coach feel about you going forward with McGirt?

ZA: My former coach was like a father figure to me; a mentor. He was speaking to me and he felt that he had done a good job with me but he had taken me to the level that he could and that he felt it was a good idea to go forward with Buddy. He knew that was a very good move for me and he only wants what is best for me. He and I are both 100% confident in McGirt. I wanted to train with someone who has been in the position I will find myself in one day, in world title fights, somebody who has done it and been there before. And, McGirt was a 2-time world champion and that is my goal. So, it is good to know I have a guy who can work with me through all the things I will go through because he has been through them himself.

BT: How would you describe yourself as a boxer? Your style?

ZA: I am a good boxer; I have a strong jab. I used to study McGirt’s jab, one of the best in boxing. I know the importance of a good jab. But, even more so, I have a good boxing IQ. That is so important. My boxing IQ allows me to control the ring and box when I need to and brawl when I need to, and I can do both. Understanding how to control the ring and control the fight is so important, that comes from a good boxing IQ.

BT: You are making your pro debut on June 5; do you have a schedule for the rest of the year?

ZA: I fight my first fight on the 5th and then we’ll see after that. The promoter I am working with is doing shows every 2 months so I could get a few more fights in this year and I’d like to fight as often as I can. I will stay in the gym and stay busy. The gym is my place of work. That is what I am here for. My place of rest is back home with my family. 

BT: Is it too early to talk about long term goals?

ZA: Well, first, I want to win a world title one day. But, that is not enough these days, I want to unify and become an undisputed champion. But, more so than that, I want to be the first local fighter to really represent Saudi, Arabia as a world champion on the world stage. I want to proudly represent the heritage of Saudi, Arabia and Egypt and the Arab world. The Saudi, Arabia government and boxing federation has been so supportive of my career and they are really behind me - specifically HRH Prince Khaled Alsaud, Prince Abdulaziz Alsaud, Rasha Alkhamis, HRH King Salman, Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman

 and BoxingArabia. The people there are so positive, never haters or jealousy, they are just so supportive of people who come to North America. Anything they do - boxing, cooking, acting, anything you do. That is the dream of all the people over there to make it over here, and represent their country, that is the best thing to them. They are so supportive of me, and I would love to go home and either headline, or be part of, a huge show over there. I want to be an idol to the people over there, show them that they can do it, do anything they want to, if they are willing to work hard and not quit, never give up. I can show them, when I am a world champion that I did it and they can do it as well. I want to show the world that a young man who worked hard, and never quit, made it to the top of the boxing world and represented the good people of Saudi, Arabia and Egypt and the Arab world, who have been so supportive of me. 

BT: Your first fight is coming up. How are you feeling?

ZA: I’m excited. This is what I have been working towards. My job is to show up, work hard, do my job. There are a lot of eyes on me from back home, but I am ready for the occasion.

BT: Zizzo, this has been so much fun hearing your story. You have a great attitude and I admire everything you have done to get to where you are. I am looking forward to watching you in the pros. Best of luck in your debut.

ZA: Thank you Bill. I appreciate that.