Ahmad Kaddour
Ahmad "Babyface" Kaddour is a professional boxer.
Personal life
Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Kaddour's parents fled the 1982 Lebanon War and Ahmad grew up in Denmark where he got his start in boxing. He has moved back and forth between Europe and the United States since 2003.Professional boxing career
Beginning
After winning the Danish National Amateur Championship in 2000, and his 2nd Nordic Amateur Championship, and much international amateur experience, Kaddour turned pro. Kaddour started his career in Europe, fighting in Denmark, Wales, Hungary, Finland, Italy and Germany including a fight against Alessio Furlan at Braunschweig, Germany. The fight went the full distance with Kaddour winning narrowly on points to inflict Furlan with the first defeat of his professional career. Soon after Kaddour moved to the United States to further his career.USA and ''The Contender'' Series
In 2003–2004, Kaddour fought 4 out of 5 fights in the USA, the other in Germany, against opponents with winning records and won 3 of the 4 USA fights by stoppage, and was very confident at 18-0 when selected to participate on the reality TV show The Contender, broadcast worldwide, and was placed on the East Coast team. While on the team, he got involved in a feud with Ishe Smith early on and they fought in the 3rd match. At the time Smith was world ranked by all 4 sanctioning organizations and held the USBA, the NABO, and the WBC Continental Americas titles. Kaddour gunned for an early KO but Smith weathered the storm and won by unanimous decision, calling it a "tough fight" afterwards. Kaddour was voted back into the quarterfinals after Juan de la Rosa pulled out – a tactic by Jesse Brinkley, Anthony Bonsante, Peter Manfredo, and Joey Gilbert designed to get under Smith's skin. The week after Smith lost a split decision to eventual Contender and WBC champion Sergio Mora, Ahmad was matched with Alfonso Gomez by the same boxers who brought Kaddour back, with the hope that the two tough fighters would battle hard and the winner would be less ready for the semi-finals. Kaddour lost by 1 round on 1 card and 3 rounds on the other 2 cards.The first of the Contender contestants to fight again after the show's finale, Kaddour dominated through an 8-round unanimous decision against Maxell Taylor on July 22, 2005, on Showtime's Shobox.
Months later he fought Jesus Felipe Valverde to a draw due to a recurring stamina problem. Two of the judges scored the fight even and the third had Kaddour winning by two rounds. Two months after this, in November 2006, Ahmad had a rematch against Valverde, which he won by split decision on Versus. Valverde, who had gone the distance with future world titlists Carlos Quintana, Kermit Cintrón, and Yuri Foreman, as well as other top competition, was the busier fighter, but Kaddour was the more effective puncher.
Ahmad's fiancé on the Contender series was Brandy Collins, an American who sponsored him for a fiancé visa. They were married after the Contender and had a son in 2006. Brandy later told him to leave their home in Houston. According to BoxingScene.com and a Houston Tribune article, Ahmad entered the home without her permission in June 2007 and was charged with burglary. He pleaded guilty to Class A Misdemeanor trespassing and was sentenced to 180 days in Harris County Jail in downtown Houston and Brandy withdrew her sponsorship of him with the INS, causing Kaddour to be transferred to immigration agents and deported to Denmark upon his release from federal custody in December 2007, and Collins obtained a divorce. Kaddour also reportedly had problems breathing through his nose and had surgery.