Boxing brothers lace up for Paris Olympics

Two-time Jordanian Olympic boxer Hussein Ishaish, will join his brother Zeyad Ishaish and fellow boxer Obada Al-Kasbeh on the plane to France this summer. 

As Grace Goulding explains, this marks the second consecutive Olympics where the siblings will compete side by side, a rare and potentially record-setting achievement in boxing. 

The Ishaish brothers’ boxing roots run deep, originating from humble beginnings at a youth center in Al-Baqaa camp in Jordan. 

With a long line of boxers in the family, the brothers were destined to enter the ring. “Fifteen athletes have carried the family name in boxing, including my brothers Zeyad and Zaid,” Hussein told Jordan News. 

Forced to drop out of school after finishing the 10th grade, Hussein and his brother focused in on their joint dream: making the Olympics. 

“When I saw him fighting in Rio 2016, it really motivated me to prepare well and train hard to be together at Tokyo 2020,” younger brother Zeyad told Olympics.com in 2021. “It was my parents’ dream,” he added. 

This motivation paid off, as both brothers proudly represented Jordan in Tokyo. “I promised our mother that we would give her a birthday present of both of us qualifying, and we delivered,” Hussein said. 

But their bond extends beyond their shared goals and the boxing ring. “We are the type of brothers who spend their lifetime together; people think we are friends, not brothers,” Zeyad noted with a smile. 

Although they once boxed against each other, they now support and push one another to excel as a united team. “It really pays off having someone close to you who knows what you go through in training and when you’re in the ring,” Zeyad explained.