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Tarik Sahibeddine was born in 1971 in Morocco to a father from Casablanca and a mother from Benslimane. Shortly afterwards, his immigrant parents brought him with them to the Bordeaux region, where he attended school. At the time, there was no clue that the young man would become a high-level boxing athlete, albeit the sport was his passion since his teenage years.
Reaching his dreams
«My parents made us love sports,» he tells Yabiladi. «Like my brother, I had been playing football when I was young, but I soon realized that I was not meant for team sports». Tarik Sahibeddine wanted to go for an individual discipline such as boxing, but for his parents, the matter was out of question. «When I was younger, there were plenty of fights in my neighborhood and there were many complaints about me,» he explains.
The young man decided therefore to remain patient and to wait until adulthood to get into boxing. But beforehand, he promised not to waste time and opted for disciplines that would help him develop endurance. As a teenager, he practiced swimming and athletic sports. His performance led him to winning regional championships and even setting records.
«In the middle distance running, I worked hard on my stamina, so when it came to boxing, I felt like I just missed out on the combat techniques,» explained the young man, who decided to compete under the Moroccan banner.
Boxing for a living
This is how, along the way, Tarik Sahibeddine gets introduced to professional boxing through his friends who encouraged him to get a career in the field.
«I quickly fell in love with this sport, the noble art. I discovered all its techniques and I understood that it was definitely not what it was purported to be, as in, a sport for people who like to fight. It's a complete sport, both physically and mentally and it is a tremendous self-confidence builder», he said.
Once his career started, the athlete quickly got distinguished both regionally and nationally in France, while also taking part to competitions abroad. But Tarik was also a father, and boxing alone was not enough to make ends meet and ensure financial stability. His main trade paved the way for other related trades, and hence he discovered his second passion: sharing and transmitting.
«My boxing career allowed me to find work that suited my passion, so I worked full-time as a facilitator, while continuing my training and tournaments.»
Many professional boxers end their careers at the age of 35. This was not the case for Tarik Sahibeddine, who continued playing box even beyond the 40 years-old threshold. Having decided to retire almost five years ago, the boxer nevertheless kept a baggage that allowed him to get a diploma and pursue a career as a social educator in Bordeaux. Since then, he is dedicated to helping young people with a passion for the sport.
Transmitting the passion
In recent weeks, Tarik Sahibeddine continued his work in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, with young people suffering from psychological disorders, schizophrenia, or developing violent behavior. He accompanies them daily by transmitting the values of boxing, which, for many of them constitutes a turning point.
As an educator and retired boxer, he will soon be working in social children's homes (MECS), as well as with unaccompanied minor migrants in Paris, mainly sub-Saharan and Afghan children. In Bordeaux, he has been a role model for many of his students, as he explains:
«Today in Bordeaux, many young people tell me that they want to continue boxing, since I passed on this passion to them. They often ask me how they are going to make it, now that I'm being transferred to Paris.»
That's why Tarik Sahibeddine believes that boxing is a real life lesson: «The hardest fight is the one against yourself. When you overcome it, you can move mountains and that's what we learn in boxing». The father of four girls and a boy introduced his children to training, to allow them to develop physical and mental skills. On the other hand, he does not plan to set them on the path of a professional career.
«If one day one of my daughters gets assaulted in the street, she will have the advantage of knowing how to defend herself, but professional boxing remains a difficult career.»
Hero of a Munich-Paris flight
Along with boxing, Tarik Sahibeddine is a big travel enthusiast. Recently, he visited several regions of Morocco with his wife, as well as countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Germany). To him, «the journey allows you to discover other cultures and new ways of living, which makes you much more humble and stronger».
While on the way back to Paris by plane from a trip to Munich, Tarik Sahibeddine was confronted by a passenger who intended to hijack the flight.
Ancien boxeur, Tarik Sahibeddine raconte comment il a empêché un détournement d'avion pic.twitter.com/1CVhdpTgDy
— CNEWS (@CNEWS) August 26, 2018
By saving the crew and the passengers, he made headlines and was invited to several television sets in France. The boxer recalled :
«At first, I thought it was someone who was looking for trouble with the hostess. Moreover, he was of Maghrebi descent, so I thought that would be another one that would bring shame on us. So I tried to calm him down, but when I realized that he wanted to hijack the plane to get back to Munich, I had to take care of the matter.»
Tarik Sahibeddine neutralized the individual, whom he tied down and handed to the police as soon as the plane landed. He was applauded by all the passengers and the thanked by the crew. The Moroccan hero told us with pride that : «When you can do a gesture or an action to fight prejudice a and amalgamation, do not hesitate to do so. Boxing also teaches these values of respect».
