Isho Shiba (born 18 September 1986 in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) is an Assyrian-Canadian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He is an ethnic Assyrian and was born in

. He currently resides in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada. He trains at McGrory's Boxing club in Hamilton. He is a six time Canadian Champion. Shiba was 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2006 Athlete of the Year. He has appeared in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He has also been in some

AIBA World Boxing Championships IBA World Boxing Championships may refer to: * IBA Men's World Boxing Championships The IBA Men's World Boxing Championships are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA, previously known as AI ...

and

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

qualifiers.

Boxing career

Shiba started boxing when he was around 11 years old and has been boxing since 1997 with the same coaches at the same boxing club, McGrory's Boxing Club in Hamilton. He was a junior boxer for six years and won two Junior Canadian Championships. The first championship that Isho won was in February 2004 in Quebec. "It was a great feeling to win after all the hard work and dedication." The second championship was in February 2005 in

Brantford, Ontario Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County but is politically separate wi ...

. In January 2006, Shiba became a senior boxer. The first senior championship he participated in was the Ontario Championships. In November 2005, he won a gold medal in the Ontario Championships. In January 2006, Shiba went to the Canadian Championships in

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

, as a 54 kg boxer. He competed against a four-time Canadian Champion and defeated him to become the new champion. He won the award for 2006 Best Rookie of the year and also 2006 Best Athlete of the year. Shiba travelled to Iraq in March 2012 to fight for the Iraqi national team. He stayed at a training camp in

. The Iraqi Olympic Association could not finalise his papers in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics Qualifiers in Kazakhstan so he was not able to compete there.

Personal life

Shiba stated in an interview that his heroes are

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...

Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes between 1995 and 2007, from super bantamwei ...

, and his longtime coach Vinnie Ryan. Shiba is an Assyrian. He left Iraq at a young age due to the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

in the 1980s. His family ran to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and stayed in a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

for several months until fleeing to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

for a year until they were accepted into Canada in 1989. His parents, Isho Shiba Sr. and Polin, are both from the villages in the

Barwari Barwari (, ) is a region in the Hakkari mountains in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. The region is inhabited by Assyrians and Kurds, and was formerly also home to a number of Jews prior to their emigration to Israel in 1951. It is divided ...

Region of Northern Iraq in the

Dohuk Governorate Duhok Governorate (, , ) is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiba, Isho Living people Sportspeople from Baghdad Canadian people of Assyrian descent 1986 births Iraqi emigrants to Canada Canadian male boxers Boxing people from Ontario Commonwealth Games boxers for Canada Boxers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Pan American Games boxers for Canada Boxers at the 2007 Pan American Games Lightweight boxers 21st-century Canadian sportsmen