Following a successful run in the ring, winning the British and Commonwealth light middleweight title in 2009, Anthony Small decided to not only hang up his gloves for good a while back, but he sold them in an effort to raise enough money to make a trip to Syria. In 2004, Small converted to Islam and became known as Abdul Haqq. Nearly a decade later, Small opted to end his career, citing that the sport went against his Islamic faith.
Last year, Small, along with Michael Coe and Simon Keeler, attempted to make their way to Syria, but were arrested after the two other individuals, who were allegedly being smuggled out of the United Kingdom in the back of a vehicle, were found with false documentation on them.
In his opening statement at their trial, prosecutor Richard Whittam claimed that Small, Coe and Keeler were planning to go to Syria in order to join and support ISIS. The three men stand accused of "preparing acts of terrorism, support of a proscribed organization and conspiracy to possess false identity documents," according to BBC News.
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[via BBC News]
