It is now 24 years since Hatim and his family arrived in London from the northeast African nation with a coastline on the Red Sea. Although he would not find boxing for another decade, the child found that he had to fight from the very start.

“It was tough in the beginning,” Hatim told The Ring. “I was trying to fit in with the kids, so there was a lot of proving myself, a lot of fights. You know how kids are at that sort of age and I was never one to let any disrespect slide. That was my downfall because I would get into a fight every other day.

“From young, I had to fend for myself, but eventually picked up boxing by accident. I walked into a gym because I thought I might be good at it. I got my backside handed to me and fell in love.”

That first foray into boxing was at west London’s famed Dale Youth ABC, which produced world champions like George Groves, James DeGale and Daniel Dubois. A stint at Earlsfield ABC would follow before he turned professional in November 2021.

He has not put a foot wrong since, winning all 12 outings in the paid ranks.

On Saturday night at Doncaster Rovers’ Eco-Power Stadium, on the undercard of the event headlined by local cult hero Dave Allen against Filip Hrgovic, the 29-year-old Hatim will challenge British champion Louie O’Doherty for his Lord Lonsdale belt and the vacant Commonwealth title.

For the man who already holds the distinction as the first Sudanese holder of the Southern Area title, this is a chance to make more history. But Hatim has far wider-reaching goals than those two belts, goals that lie back home in Sudan.

“Back there, boxing doesn’t exist,” he said of his homeland.

“When I first started boxing my parents thought it was just a violent sport, but slowly, slowly they warmed to it. My mission is to change that mentality for all my people, to prove to them that boxing is an art and not some barbaric sport. This is a sport that can change people’s lives. First and foremost, I want to take boxing as far as I possibly can, so I can use that to uplift and empower my people.

“But from there I want to do more, one day I want to go back and build an amateur system in Sudan. Just like I got a chance over here, I want to offer the people in Sudan the chance to change their lives through boxing. That is my dream and that is my mission, so I know how important it is that I keep winning myself.”

Hatim has already seen O’Doherty (11-0, 3 KOs) up close, as the champion’s record boasts a unanimous decision victory over friend and stablemate Youssef Khoumari, who O’Doherty faced for the English lightweight title in June.

“I remember I saw him in the medical room that night when he boxed Youssef,” Hatim said of O’Doherty.

“I went up to him, fist-bumped him and said, ‘I’ll see you soon.’ I don’t think he knew what I meant, but here we are, only a few days away from getting it on. Right now, Louis O’Doherty is in my way and he’s going to get moved out the way on May 16.

“For me, this is bigger than him,” Hatim said. “I want to be a positive influence for my people, use what comes with boxing and give back to my people in Sudan who are less fortunate.

“I want to build gyms and change lives. My dream is to have representatives from Sudan in the Olympics. But it’s one step at a time and right now, the next step is O’Doherty.”