 Eventually leaving school in July 1902, at age thirteen he became involved with boxing promoter Dan Sullivan.Sabini was seen as a promising fighter but was unwilling to train hard so instead he became a bouncer at Sullivan's promotions in Hoxton Baths.He married Annie Emma Potter (1892 - 1978), the daughter of William John Potter, at St Paul's in Clerkenwell, on 21 December 1913.