Sharif Ben Mabrouk is arriving on the SENSHI 33 Grand Prix with a easy message for the 95kg subject: don’t rely on him to play it secure. The 22-year-old Dutch-Tunisian kickboxer believes his mindset, starvation and willingness to embrace the underdog function can carry him by way of one of many hardest codecs within the sport. Accessible on DAZN.
The sunshine heavyweight event takes place Saturday, September 5, on the seashore area in Saints Constantine and Helena close to Varna, Bulgaria. Eight fighters will enter the one-night bracket, and the champion should win a quarterfinal, semifinal and last on the identical card. Ben Mabrouk opens towards Turkey’s Emin Özer, with the winner shifting into the ultimate 4.
Sharif Ben Mabrouk Talks SENSHI 33
“Solely God can cease me,” Ben Mabrouk mentioned when requested whether or not anyone within the event can halt his run. That confidence comes with a transparent sense of objective. Ben Mabrouk, who calls himself “The Monster,” mentioned he feels made for this stage and sees a distinction between desirous to win and needing to win. “I used to be born for this,” he mentioned. “I imagine no person has the identical starvation as me.”
His self-assessment goes past pre-fight discuss. Ben Mabrouk says his largest weapon is “my starvation and mentality,” and he approaches each struggle with a high-risk, high-output perspective. He describes his type in a single phrase: “Aggressive.” A choice victory holds little attraction for him both. “I solely desire a knockout,” he mentioned. “A win on choice doesn’t really feel like an actual win for me.”
That outlook might make his SENSHI 33 quarterfinal with Özer one of many card’s most direct matchups. The event contains Bulgaria’s reigning SENSHI European champion Eduard “Mr. Motion” Aleksanyan, who strikes up from 90kg, together with Romania’s Yuri Farcas, Portugal’s Iuri Fernandes, Moldova’s Alexandru Burduja, Italy’s Ramon Quirini and Germany’s Ali Nasir. The 4 quarterfinal winners return later that evening for the semifinals, leaving little time to recuperate from harm or reset after an opening-round conflict.
Ben Mabrouk doesn’t current himself as the favourite. In actual fact, he would relatively folks doubt him. “Please don’t imagine it,” he mentioned when requested why followers ought to anticipate him to go away with the trophy. “I’ve all the time been the underdog and love this place. I’m the youngest fighter within the event however will present everybody what I’m able to.”
If he will get the possibility to decide on a last opponent, Ben Mabrouk has his eye on DR Congo’s Bokéme, whom he calls one of the best fighter within the subject. “I do know that I must beat the highest to turn out to be the highest,” he mentioned. The remark matches his long-term plan at SENSHI, the place he needs to gather titles at 85kg, 95kg and finally heavyweight.
Outdoors the ring, Ben Mabrouk is within the last yr of a enterprise diploma at Erasmus College and has educated in martial arts for 4 years. He says fight sports activities helped him redirect anger that had triggered issues whereas rising up. “Combating took away my anger outdoors the ring,” he mentioned. “All of that went away once I began kickboxing.”
His self-discipline is the standard he values most, even when that very same mentality can turn out to be a weak spot. Ben Mabrouk admits he can push himself too far in coaching and be too laborious on himself. Nonetheless, he sees no motive to melt his strategy forward of a career-defining alternative.
“I wish to present my coronary heart,” Ben Mabrouk mentioned forward of his return to Bulgaria. After a profitable SENSHI 32 debut in July, he’s now in the primary Grand Prix bracket relatively than a reserve bout. For a fighter who says he was born for fight, three wins in a single evening is precisely the task he needs.
SENSHI 33 streams reside and free worldwide on DAZN, with the occasion scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. EEST.
