Billy Dib: Former two-time world boxing champion launches Billyve Management, signs Mounir Fathi

Former boxing world champion Billy Dib – who recently announced a major win in his latest cancer battle – has made his first foray into management, hoping to inspire his protege to global success.

Billy Dib’s protege Mounir Fathi, a Moroccan professional boxer who has moved to Sydney.

The fire has once again ignited in the belly of two-time world boxing champion Billy Dib as he makes his first foray into management following a cancer diagnosis which brutally ended his professional career.

Having always dreamt about managing fighters after retirement, Dib said he lost that passion “towards the end” of his career. However, he has recently welcomed undefeated Moroccan Mounir Fathi as his first signee to Billyve Management.

Despite his cancer battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma last year, Dib now calls himself the “Comeback Kid”, announcing he was in remission in March.

It wasn’t the first time he had to deal with cancer either, with his first wife Sara Selim Dib dying from leukaemia in 2015.

It was during his most recent fight with cancer that the sense of brotherhood with 28-year-old Fathi emerged.

Proud to Announce the first signing to Billyve Management. Remember the name Mounir Fathi. pic.twitter.com/peGHpDUTP6

— Billy Dib (@BillyDib) July 23, 2023

“When I was sick … he didn’t even tell me he was coming to Australia, he just turned up at my door and I started crying,” he said.

“To be going through [that] and for him to come all this way, I was flabbergasted. There’s this TV show in Arabic, it’s called ‘Till death’ and he and I are together till death.”

Fathi eventually made the move to Australia permanent last year, and has picked up five knockouts in his five professional career bouts. He now has Dib in his corner full-time.

But, it wasn’t until an impromptu sparring session with former world champion Tony Harrison which put Dib and others in the gym on notice.

Speaking exclusively to this publication, Dib detailed the turn of events which saw Fathi square up against Harrison as the American prepared to face Tim Tszyu for the WBO interim super-welterweight title in March.

“Tony’s sparring partner got injured and [he asked] Mounir if he wanted to do some rounds,” Dib said.

“Mounir goes ‘I’m not warm’ and I said ‘put your wraps on right now, show me what you’ve been saying you can do to this guy, I want to see it’. He was telling me I can do this, I can do that, and I’m thinking everyone talks … but the minute I saw him, I said that’s it, he’s the real deal. He absolutely schooled Tony.”

Dib was shocked, and before the four rounds were finished, he called up his trainer Harry to break the news.

Former two-time world champion Billy Dib and protege Mounir Fathi.

Having won the IBO super-featherweight and IBF featherweight titles in 2008 and 2011 respectively, Dib understands what it takes to be a world champion.

“I genuinely believe in his talent, and so for me to leave the sport of boxing, and be a former world champion and then to go into the management game, and the first kid that I manage becomes a world champion. Like, how amazing would that be?,” Dib said.

Their journey continues in two weeks against New Zealand’s Jerome Pascua on the No Limit Boxing undercard for Issac Hardman’s middleweight match-up against Kazuki Kyohara.

“When [No Limit] sees him on Wednesday, I think the board games are going to change … they’re going to see it for themselves,” Dib said.

“Of course they understand my judgement, because I’m a former champion, but I told them on the phone the other day, I would not waste my time if I didn’t think he had it.”

But it hasn’t been easy finding opponents and Dib has been warned about keeping Fathi’s talent “quiet”.

“I’m only speaking the truth … you can’t deny this kid … because if I can’t get him fights in Australia, then I’ll take him overseas,” he said.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help the kid.”