Lebanon’s Ramzi Hilal will have a familiar figure in his corner when he competes in the men’s 55kg category at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: his father and coach, Wissam Hilal.
The boxing competition will take place from 7–12 November as part of the first Olympic sporting event to be staged on African soil. For Ramzi and Wissam, it represents the latest chapter in a shared journey that began when the young boxer first entered the gym at eight years old.
Born in Germany on 12 May 2009, Ramzi moved to Lebanon when he was five and a half. One of seven children, with four sisters and two brothers, he grew up surrounded by boxing through his father, a former international boxer who represented Lebanon before moving into coaching.
Under Wissam’s guidance, Ramzi progressed from learning the fundamentals of the sport to earning a place on the Lebanese national team. Their relationship has remained central to his development, with father and son now preparing together for the biggest competition of Ramzi’s young career.
Ramzi secured his selection to represent Lebanon at Dakar 2026 following his participation at the World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, where Wissam also attended as his coach.
His opportunity to compete at the Youth Olympic Games follows several years of success at national level. Ramzi won Lebanese championship titles from 2022 through 2026 and added an international medal to his record by claiming silver at the 2026 Arab Boxing Championships in Jordan.
His development has also taken him beyond Lebanon, with training camps in Bahrain, Thailand, Jordan, Egypt and Uzbekistan. These experiences have allowed him to work alongside boxers from different nations, experience a variety of styles and strengthen his technical and tactical preparation for international competition.
For Wissam, the journey to Dakar brings together two important parts of his life in boxing. Having once represented Lebanon inside the ring, he will now help his son carry the country’s colours onto the Youth Olympic stage.
As Ramzi continues his preparations with the Lebanese national team, the coach who first introduced him to boxing remains alongside him. What began as lessons between a father and his eight-year-old son now leads them both to Dakar 2026.