Ismail Sillakh (born February 9, 1985, in Zaporizhia) is a Ukrainian professional boxer who has medaled in important international tournaments as an amateur.
Ismail Sillakh was born in Zaporizhia, then he moved with his family to Industrial city of Mariupol (one of the most important port cities in Ukraine) His parents — Mohammad of Sierra Leone and Natalya, a Ukraine native—met in college and had no particular connection to boxing but he took up the sport at a local recreation center at age seven and quickly discovered that he had the athletic ability to excel at it.
He began competing at age nine and was recognized as one of Ukraine’s better amateurs a few years later before establishing himself as one of Europe’s premier open-class boxers.
[1] Amateur Record: 302-16 2001 (October 11–21) Gold Medalist World Cadet Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, boxing as a Welterweight (67 kg): 2005 (November 13–20) Silver Medalist World Championships in Mianyang, China, boxing as a Middleweight (75 kg): 2006 (July 14–23) Silver Medalist European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, boxing as a Light-Heavyweight (81 kg): As a pro he is managed by Ivaylo Gotzev and trained by Shadeed Suluki.
In 2010 he KOd Daniel Judah for his first minor title (NABF), in 2011 he beat the undefeated Cuban Yordanis Despaigne by unanimous decision.