Idi Amin’s boxer grandson determined to become new King of Scotland

Idi Amin’s boxer grandson determined to become new King of ScotlandImage source, Getty ImagesByRichard WintonBBC Sport Scotland in GlasgowPublished20 minutes agoAziz Abdul never met his grandfather. He was a military dictator and died in exile when little Aziz was a toddler. His name was Idi Amin.Globally, he had another name. The Butcher of Uganda. Amin took charge of his homeland in a coup in 1971 – becoming the country’s third president – and ran a brutal regime for eight years. It’s estimated half a million people were killed and the country’s entire Asian population were expelled.He married six times and fathered around 60 children. Or, rather, that’s how many he acknowledged. Somewhere among all that, belongs Abdul. This week, the 25-year-old is one of around 3,000 athletes in Glasgow. Just another face in a tracksuit, here for the Commonwealth Games. But not many others have the lineage that the super-heavyweight boxer does.Abdul fights England’s Damar Thomas in the quarter-finals of the 90+kg category on Wednesday, knowing victory will guarantee at least bronze and make him Uganda’s first Commonwealth boxing medallist since Auckland in 1990.That it could come in Glasgow is particularly pertinent. The despotic Amin harboured a fascination with Scotland after serving in the King’s African Rifles in his 20s. At the height of regime, he was fond of wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes – and even declared himself “King of Scotland” in 1976. Some years later, those predilections even spawned an Oscar-winning film, The Last King Of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy.So what would it mean to Abdul – who goes by the nickname Ringo – to win gold in Glasgow? “In everything we do, God knows tomorrow,” he told BBC Sport Scotland. “It’s God’s plan. I might be the new King of Scotland. It’s possible.”When I arrived, I put up the flag, ’cause I like Scotland so much.”‘I want my country to recognise me’Amin was an accomplished fighter himself, holding the Ugandan light-heavyweight title for nine years from 1951. Even that was not without controversy, though.Having been beaten in one fight during that time, he reportedly decreed a rematch after taking power, and delivered a staged knockout while wearing his a suit and tie.In a previous interview, Abdul stated he was “inspired” by Amin, although it was not entirely clear whether was was talking about his boxing feats or not.He refused to answer when asked if he was proud to be the dictator’s grandson, but he did address the question of how he feels when he is linked to someone with such a sinister reputation.”Sometimes people say positive about him, but others say negative about him,” he explained. “That’s why I don’t want to talk more about him. “It’s not good to say something negative about someone who is not there, and it’s not good to say something about someone negative who was not there by the time when the incident happened, if it happened.”Idi Amin: The buffoon tyrant