Hayward (United States) (AFP)

Souleymane Cissokho "I have a goal, to become world champion, and for that you have to get the belts, you have to box," said super-welter Souleymane Cissokho to AFP, who is about to cross "a new stage "on this road, Saturday against the Englishman Kieron Conway.

Going to meet the Frenchman, for his last training before departure in Arlington (Texas) where the fight will take place, is to find oneself in the industrial zone of Hayward, a city located to the south-east of the San Francisco bay.

At the sight of this white hangar among many others, it is difficult to imagine a room inside, until the blows resound through the wall of a punching bag and that typical exhalation of a boxer in the middle of effort.

Cissokho continues the workshops.

A mixture of fatigue and excitement concludes her Monday morning.

He knows he is in the home stretch of a very important meeting.

"There is an intercontinental WBA belt at stake, it puts you in the top 15 in the world. Once in this ranking, we can do a world championship. It can go very quickly. There I will have an incredible exposure in front of you. about 70,000 people. So I'm going 100%, "smiles this elegant, on and off the ring.

And for good reason: blocked by contractual risks and the Covid, the 2019 French champion had not boxed for 18 months when he was finally able to put on his gloves on March 13, to beat the Mexican Daniel Echeverria.

His 12th victory in as many fights.

- Beginnings at 14 years old -

"The pandemic was not easy, it led to five cancellations of fights. We go to training camp, we make sacrifices, we leave our family, we prepare very hard, we cry sometimes, and there, a week before, it's canceled ... ", he explains, while acknowledging" being part of the property "financially.

In solidarity with "other boxers who struggle", he took the opportunity to launch an application project, "so that they benefit from a small remuneration".

"When I come to train here, I pay dearly for my sparring-partners. Why not do it in France?", Emphasizes the one who has also created in recent years an association, "Sports education sector", helping young people .

France, where he landed from Dakar at the age of four when his father, a financial advisor, was transferred to Paris, Souleymane has it in his heart.

He was the captain of the "Solid Team" which defended the French chances at the Rio Olympics in 2016, with a bronze medal.

The conclusion of this "incredible" collective adventure was also that of a first phase in boxing, a sport that began "late" at the age of 14.

"It was a change from football, I immediately hooked. I quickly trained very hard, I was going to run late at night, I was rope in my cellar. When I do something, I do it hard And this work paid off: a year and a half later, I became champion of France cadets, "he continues.

- "Open myself to lots of things" -

What did the parents think?

"They didn't immediately + tilt + when I told them about it, but after this first title, they saw that it was starting to be serious. My father didn't want me to put my studies aside. 'said + you can continue boxing, on the other hand I want you to continue to work well at school. "

Souleymane has managed to reconcile the two and should soon complete a Master 2 in sports law at the Sorbonne.

An orientation chosen when he turned professional after Rio.

"I had a lot of proposals. I was entering sport-business ... I enrolled in this course, to know how to manage contracts, all that kind of thing, so as not to be fooled."

"The thesis is almost finished, but I took a step back because the career goes up. The diploma will be for me like a second title of world champion, after the one I want to win in boxing," he promises.

At 29, Cissokho does not forbid himself anything.

As when he participated in September 2020, at the Seine Musicale, in a show, "La boxeuse amoureuse", created by the dancer-star Marie-Agnès Gillot with the author of the eponymous song Arthur H.

"I had a pressure comparable to that which I can have while entering the ring and when at the end the public applauded us I had tears in my eyes. Of course I am a boxer, ambassador of my sport. But what I want is to open myself up to many things. "

© 2021 AFP