Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim to fight boxing bout overseas after Melb venue torched
Gangland figure Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim will fight for a world boxing title in Asia after the Melbourne venue set to hold his previous bout went up in flames in an arson attack.
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Gangland figure Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim will fight for a world boxing title overseas after the Melbourne venue set to hold his previous bout was torched.
The Furlan Club in Thornbury went up in flames in February in a tobacco war attack believed to be carried out by heavy hitters living outside Australia, just days before the powerful crime figure was set to step into the ring for an Australasian title.
The fire forced the family run reception venue to close its doors, postponing Abdulrahim’s fight against Fijian Savenaca Naliva indefinitely.
He had been heavily promoting the fight on social media before organisers were forced to pull the pin.
But at 9pm on Thursday, he will step back into the ring in Asia against Thai boxer Panya Chomphoophuang for a bout that, if he wins, could make him a frontrunner for a world title.
Abdulrahim’s fight is worlds away from Victoria, where reports of a kill plot against the former bikie and a slew of arson attacks against businesses linked to him have plagued detectives investigating the state’s tobacco wars.
The offenders behind the attack on the Furlan Club are also believed to be responsible for torching the Emerald Reception Centre in Thomastown, with both blazes adding to the dozens of attacks connected to the ongoing fight for control over the illegal tobacco trade.
Exiled underworld boss Kazem Hamad, a long-time enemy of Abdulrahim, is believed to be one of the most dominant players in the black market battle.
One underworld source told the Herald Sun tensions between the pair had been escalating for some time.
In October last year, the Power Gymnasium, which is connected to Abdulrahim, went up in flames.
Before that, a Moonee Ponds tobacconist linked to the fighter was torched three times.
At least 40 separate fires are believed to be linked to Victoria’s raging tobacco wars.
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