Abdul Ali ( bn, আব্দুল আলী; born 6 May 1969), better known as his ring name Ali Jacko ( bn, আলী জ্যাকো), is a British former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

kickboxer who was two-time world

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

kickboxing

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

who competed between 1990 and 2002. He is the first ever Bangladeshi to be a world champion in combat sports and the first ever Asian kickboxing world champion. He also ran JKO Productions, which was part of the kickboxing promotion of

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

and Channel 5.

Early life

Ali was born in the East End of London. He is of Bangladeshi descent Jacko Ali and lived in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

for six years. His late father Mohammed Chamak Ali was born in Paigaon, Jawa Bazar,

Chhatak Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet Division, Sylhet. Further reading * {{cite book , last=Ho ...

in Sylhet District,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

(now

Sunamganj Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Ali has three younger brothers and two younger sisters. Ali attended Sir John Cass Redcoat School. At an early age, he played Junior League football and became the

BMX Freestyle Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced t ...

Schoolboy champion. From 1987, at the age of 17, he ran his own fashion design and manufacturing business. Ali was inspired to take up kickboxing by a chance meeting on an airplane with Muhammad Ali, despite having a serious heart condition.

Professional kickboxing career

In 1986, Ali started training as a kickboxer. On 2 December 1990, he won his first B.I.K.M.A British lightweight kickboxing title. In February 1996, he won the W.M.O European kickboxing title. On 3 October 1999, he won the W.K.N World Inter-Continental Championship. On 26 May 1996, he defeated Frederic Pierre to win the W.K.O World lightweight kickboxing title at The Island in Ilford. In June 2000, Ali took his second World lightweight kickboxing title, this time in the World Kickboxing Network belt. Ali became the first Asian to win British, European, Inter-Continental and World Full-Contact kickboxing championships. He had a 45 fight career, with one defeat by submission due to injury. Ali's manager and trainer Eddie Dujon took him through his British, European and World Championship fights. Ali retired from kickboxing in 2002.

Media career

In July 1997, Ali launched JKO TV, which produces and provides programmes for terrestrial, satellite and corporate clients. It filmed Thai and kickboxing on

and Channel 5. In June 2000, Ali launched the UK's first all Kick / Thai-boxing magazine ''Kick Boxing UK''.

Other work

In 2011, CA Foundation was established, the foundation is based on a charity dedicated to Ali's father, Chamak Ali. The foundation's objectives are to build hospitals and football stadiums besides creating jobs for the poor people. In November 2014, Ali conducted a trial among Bangladeshi boxers at the Muhammad Ali Boxing Stadium. The selected boxers were supposed to be given the opportunity to train in the UK to help them enter the professional circuit. In June 2015, Ali brought his boxer protégé, Suro Chakma, from Bangladesh to train under his supervision at Martin Bowers’ gym. In November of the same year, Ali went to India to scout talent and earmarked eight boxers, including World Boxing Council Asian champion,

Neeraj Goyat Neeraj Goyat (born 11 November 1991) is an Indian professional boxer. He won the title of "India's most promising boxer" in 2008. He is also the first professional boxer who played three fights of twelve rounds and won it. The first Indian boxe ...

, in his scheme of helping them train in England and managing fights for them. Ali is in talks with famous British professional-boxing promoter Barry Hearn. In August 2015, Ali started receiving vocal training. On 4 November 2015, Ali's debut single "Give My Love A Brand New Name" was released by record label LBE Music Group. The music video was shot in London, conceptualised by

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...

. and features supermodel and television personality

Jodie Kidd Jodie Elizabeth Kidd (born 25 September 1978) is an English fashion model, racing driver, and television personality. Early life Kidd was born in 1978 and is the daughter of the businessman and former showjumper Johnny Kidd. She is the grandda ...

. His debut album is due to be released in 2016. In December of the same year, he was interviewed by Nadia Ali on

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...

Awards

Ali won the Canary Wharf Sporting Personality Award in 2001 and the UK Asian Sporting Award in 2003.

Personal life

Ali is a Muslim, and lives in London with his wife and son. He also has a daughter. His mother lives in Bangladesh. Ali is close of friends with Bollywood actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. In 1996, Khan helped promote Ali's first world title bout and came to watch it in London, and they have been friends ever since.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacko, Ali 1969 births Living people English Muslims English people of Bangladeshi descent English male kickboxers British wushu practitioners English jujutsuka Lightweight kickboxers English television producers English publishers (people) English male singers Sportspeople from London Businesspeople from London Sportspeople from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People educated at Sir John Cass Redcoat School People from Sunamganj District