Bilal Fawaz: British champion stuck without passport

British welterweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light-middleweight champion Bilal Fawaz cannot fight abroad or take his family on holiday despite living in the UK for more than two decades, a situation his promoter Eddie Hearn calls embarrassing for the government.

Fawaz, 38, was trafficked to the United Kingdom at 14 and has not left the country since, according to the BBC. The London-based boxer represented England six times as an amateur before turning professional with a work permit, but his immigration status prevents him from accepting lucrative fights in Saudi Arabia or the United States. "What on earth is the hold-up?" Hearn said, per the BBC report. "You want to go down to Number 10 and bang on the door and say: 'Any chance of dealing with this?'"

Fawaz's path from trafficking victim to champion

Born in Nigeria to a Beninese mother and Lebanese father, Fawaz says he was brought to London believing he would reunite with his father but was instead confined in a house and forced to work. After escaping into the care system, he received convictions for minor offenses including cannabis possession during his youth. Fawaz found stability at the All Stars Boxing Club in west London, where he became an English amateur champion, but could not pursue Olympic qualification or sign professional contracts without work permission. "Boxing saved me," he told the BBC. "It's my addiction. Boxing gave me the feeling that I deserve more."

He received a work permit at 33 and has since beaten Junaid Bostan for the English title and Ishmael Davis for the British and Commonwealth straps. A new BBC documentary titled Fighting for Freedom follows Fawaz as he defended his British belt against Ryan Kelly in Wolverhampton in May.

Fawaz is on a 10-year route to settlement and will not be eligible for British citizenship until age 43. The Home Office declined to comment on individual cases. Hearn said the government is denying Fawaz world title opportunities that could already have been his had he received a passport in his early 20s.

Source: bbc.co.uk