ISLAMABAD: After back-to-back victories in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistani boxer Muhammad Waseem is now looking forward to bouts in Saudi Arabia, he told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Monday.
“I am very hopeful to fight in Saudi Arabia in the near future. As they are arranging matches frequently, I would love to fight there as soon as possible,” said Waseem who last week won with former World Boxing Council light flyweight champion Ganigan Lopez in Dubai.
Although victorious, the boxer known as the Falcon admitted that the Lopez bout prevented him from participating in the biggest fight in the history of boxing for the unified world heavyweight championship, which will see Anthony Joshua against Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 7.
According to Waseem, the Joshua-Ruiz fight will have a long-term impact on promoting Saudi Arabia as the next big destination for high-profile fights. “Boxing is making an impact in the Kingdom due to Muhammad bin Salman’s initiatives,” he said, noting that it will also help polish Saudi talent thanks to international exposure, especially as many big names of boxing want to fight in Saudi Arabia and UAE, “European champion Sam Maxwell told me that he wants to play in Dubai,” Waseem said.
The 32-year-old boxer started his boxing career at the age of eight and a year later took part in a kids’ competition. As amateur, he had to struggle to excel due to lack of support and facilities even in Pakistan’s national camps. However, he became a national champion in 2005, and won medals for Pakistan in the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and other international competitions.
Waseem’s professional career started in 2015, when he won a bantamweight title bout against South Korean Min Wook Lee.
Pakistani boxer Muhammad Waseem, known as the Falcon, speaks with Arab News in Islamabad on Monday. (AN Photo)
“I won the World Boxing Council silver flyweight title after defeating favorite Jether Oliva from the Philippines in July 2016, and was the first Pakistani to win this belt,” he said. In November 2016, he defended the title by defeating Philippines’ Giemel Magramo. “This fight was my all-time favorite as Magreamo was undefeated in his previous 17 bouts.”
Speaking about his most recent victory, the Falcon recalled his promoter’s warning that Lopez – a two-time world champion and four-time Latino champion – is a very tough opponent.
“I accepted this fight as a challenge and trained very hard by joining a camp for two months in Scotland,” Waseem said, noting that for the Lopez bout he was already in full-scale fight mode. Prior to his September win with Filipino fighter Canrado Tanamor, which was also his first fight in the UAE, Waseem had spent six months preparing at the Scottish camp.
“Due to my hard training I knocked out the Filipino champion in the first round in September. It’s very hard to fight back-to-back in two months, but my hard training and fitness helped me in defeating a tough competitor like Lopez who has more than 40 professional fights on his credit and remained undefeated in his first 25 fights,” the Falcon said, admitting that Lopez is more experienced than him, as he himself has so far fought only 11 international fights.
Waseem praised the UAE arena, its investment in grooming talent and the government’s enthusiasm toward the sport.
“During my two fights in the UAE the atmosphere was unbelievable. Both the government and people are very cooperative and enthusiastic about boxing,” he said, adding that the UAE’s rulers and sons of the Saudi Crown Prince watched his latest match.
He appealed to Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE to support Pakistani boxers and promote the region’s talent, as the government is only interested in cricket. According to him, a Pakistani institution that makes real efforts to promote sports in the Army.
“They always supported me and thanks to them I am talking to my management firm to bring international fights to Pakistan. I am planning to fight in my own country in the near future and army officials have ensured cooperation in bringing international professional boxing into the country,” Waseem said.
“Sportspersons are suffering a lot in Pakistan due to lack of support and facilities. I have to go to the US and UK for training,” said the boxer who is currently with MTK Global, a UK-based boxing management company. He appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, himself a sportsman, “to promote all sports in the country.”
