Cyril Benzaquen's Brief Boxing Career

Cyril Benzaquen medaled at prestigious amateur Muay Thai championships. He's a world champion kickboxer, who has been rated in the top ten in the world across different promotions. A model, speaker, promoter, and entrepreneur, Benzaquen has done just about everything. He even dabbled in professional boxing.

Of Moroccan heritage, the 36-year-old Benzaquen was born in France. He started kickboxing at the age of 13. After a successful amateur career in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, he turned pro in 2010. Benzaquen, who has two Master's degrees, won the ISKA light heavyweight title in 2015.

Cyril, who was trained by the legendary André Zeitoun, is known for his technical skills. "He was a really serious man in the gym," Zeitoun said of his former student. "He has good hands and very good low kicks," he told The Jewish Boxing Blog.

In 2018, Benzaquen decided to see what those good hands could do. On May 25, he debuted as a professional boxer. He dropped a four-rounder to the more experienced Matthieu Bernardet, three rounds to one. Less than a month later, Benzaquen swept the cards against Jeffe Florentz. On February 9 the following year, Benzaquen lost a close fight by split decision against another more experienced foe, Mehdi Salouane. Benzaquen finished with a pro boxing record of 1-2.

Cyril took his flying knees back to kickboxing, where he continued his astonishing success. He made his return to Glory in 2024 and won another ISKA world title. He is an eight-time world champion, a mark which includes title defenses in French kickboxing. Though his boxing career was brief, the champ continues to add to his long list of achievements in other disciplines.

The Big Deal is Back

Brooklyn "The Big Deal" Barwick took the summer off from boxing to visit Israel. The 26 year old featherweight linked up with several members of the Israeli combat sports community. Moshe, the brother of Nili Block, the Baltimore-born Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion, was one. While in the Holy Land, Barwick met the celebrity chef Tom Aviv and connected with Assaf of IsraelsMMA.

Barwick is nearing the end of her conversion journey. Born to a Jewish father, she is converting to Orthodox Judaism. "The conversion is long, hard and I've had to learn thirteen years of knowledge in nine months, but I'm feeling really good," she told The Jewish Boxing Blog.

She's developing self-defense courses, particularly for women, but also for co-eds. "I want to teach Jews how to fight," she said. Barwick held a self-defense seminar at the Palm Shtrimpin Festival in New York over the summer. Her next seminar is a women's safety class scheduled for Unity Litt's Rosh Hashanah Retreat. After experiencing controlling behavior in a past relationship, she wants to teach frum women and girls to protect themselves.

Brooklyn got back to training last week with the Sosa crew at New York Cops & Kids in Flatbush. She's targeting a fight in the fall at 126, before planning a move down to junior featherweight. She's currently seeking additional sponsors for her next bout.

If that isn't enough, Barwick announced, "I have a DJ set coming out soon. It's a break-up tune, and I hope that it shows you can come from nothing and turn into something." The EDM aficionado is aiming to walk out to her song in her next fight. She'll also sport a return to what she calls "Big Deal Blonde," as she was moments from a visit to the hairstylist during our phone conversation.

"It's a brand," she said. One the 7-1 fighter with seven KOs, looks to continue. "I am going to be a "'Big Deal' for as long as I can."

Preview of Joshua Feldman vs. Emile Brits

Undefeated junior welterweight Joshua Feldman will face fellow South African Emile "The Bomber" Brits on September 5 at Makers Landing in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This will be Feldman's first fight since he began training with Brandon Woods in Las Vegas. The 22 year old southpaw will have had a fifteen-month layoff before he enters the ring next month with a couple of belts on the line.

Feldman traveled to Vegas last summer after spending his entire pro career under the guidance of one of the best trainers on the globe, Colin Nathan. As a world-renowned trainer and star manager, Nathan had a lot on his plate. Feldman sought out the DLX Gym and Woods, a quality trainer in his own right but one without Nathan's reputation yet.

This is a homecoming for the 7-0 fighter. This is will be his first pro contest in his hometown of Cape Town. Feldman has fought all of his pro bouts in the Johannesburg area.

Brits, 30, is an experienced kickboxer. The resident of Kraaifontein, located just outside of Cape Town, became a professional boxer in 2021. He's a rough, come-forward fighter. His toughest test came against Ibrahima Diallo on December 16, 2023 for the WBA 154-pound Africa title. Diallo, a tall southpaw, boxed effectively to win by unanimous decision.

Diallo landed right uppercuts as Brits came in. He attacked the body to slow down the South African, and landed crisp clean shots over the top. Lots of Brits's shots fell on Diallo's gloves and arms. Feldman fights differently than Diallo, but he's a southpaw who is adept at boxing. In recent fights, though, Josh has shown there's a dog inside of him, his mean streak in the ring rising to the surface.

Brits is 6-3 with 3 KOs; BoxRec doesn't list the Diallo fight. He's as tough as they come, so it will be difficult for Feldman to stop him. But body shots early could slow Brits's pressure. The right uppercut will be there and that could set up Josh's overhand left and right hook, both sharp punches.

This fight marks Feldman's first ten rounder. Brits has had two scheduled that far with the Diallo fight going the distance.

David Malul Scheduled for October

Undefeated welterweight prospect "King" David Malul is scheduled to return to the ring on October 10 at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York, USA. This will be his fourth fight at the Paramount and his fourth on a Star Boxing card.

Malul, 5-0 (3 KOs), is a native of Queens, New York. The 23 year old last fought at the Tropicana in Atlantic City back in June. He stopped Julius Thomas in the second round.

A devastating puncher when he first turned pro in 2024, David has incorporated more boxing into his game of late. Typically shorter than his opponents, he has been jabbing more on the way inside. He sets up his concussive overhand right more, and his left hook has evolved into a real weapon.

The October 10 fight is slated to be Malul's fight six-rounder. No opponent has yet been announced.

Fat City

The third installment in writer Andrew Rihn's #HittingTheBooks series is Fat City by Leonard Gardner.

Ernie Munger, an up-and-coming boxer, and Billy Tully, a washed up veteran trying to hang on to his career, struggle through life in their own ways. Neither lives life; both seemingly exist in a dreary continuum. Their only agency comes in the form of self-sabotage. The fleeting moments of boxing triumph are quickly washed away by low-paying jobs, strained relationships, and low-rent living accommodations in Stockton, California. They are trapped in a perpetual rut.

Munger's career essentially begins when he out-spars a faded Tully. To save face, Tully vouches for Munger's talent. But the young prospect doesn't have Top Rank, Matchroom, the PBC, or Zuffa setting him up with patsies to pad his record. Trainer Ruben Luna gives his time and money to his fighters for nothing more than a dream at the big time. He's no power broker though, and puts Munger in fights that turn out to be losing propositions.

Both Tully and Munger begin to resent the women in their lives. Tully drinks to numb the pain, but his alcoholism only causes him more trouble. In many ways, boxing isn't much different; it provides a brief high, but in the end, it literally leaves Tully stranded in the desert at night.

After the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Miami Dolphins by a score of 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII, defensive end Carl Eller explained, "It seemed I could hear Scottish bagpipes in the distance, keeping time as they came after us, wave after wave, gaining ground so easily, they seemed to be floating in suspended animation. It was a weird surrealistic scene, as if we were on the sidelines watching our own struggle yet being powerless to do anything about it."

Munger, Tully, and Luna would have fit in well with the Purple People Eaters on that day. But instead of Jim Kiick, Larry Czonka, and Mercury Morris crashing down on them in waves, the main characters of Fat City faced something more existential.

The last book as part of this year's #HittingTheBooks is The Slip by Lucas Schaefer.