Pakistani Boxer Muhammad Waseem Makes History With KO Win

Pakistani boxing star Muhammad Waseem won a belt at the first-ever International Boxing Championship in Quetta, Pakistan. 

Waseem took on Venezuela’s Veseton Orono in a fight that got sanctioned by the WBA. The event was a massive feat for South Asian boxing in a card that featured 12 bouts. Eight of those were title fights, with the other four non-title bouts. Waseem delivered on the biggest stage of his career, knocking out Orono in round nine to become the WBA Gold Bantamweight Champion.

His performance will do wonders for the sport in Pakistan, paving the way for the next generation of boxers. Unlike other boxers from a Pakistani background, such as Amir Khan, Waseem has had the privilege of fighting in the country, as he was delighted at what he had achieved. 

Reaction

“I felt so good was also because this is my natural weight. Orono was so good in the first three rounds, and he was just dominating, I felt. My opponent was too good, but then I felt I started to get more ground in the fourth round, and by the sixth round, I could intuitively tell that he was wearing out.

“By the time I returned to my corner after the sixth round, my coach Danny Vaughn said that Orono looks like he wants to get out of the fight. So I capitalised on it. [And] I was sure that he would not last beyond the ninth or tenth round with the way he was moving.

“I trained in Liverpool for two months, but the day I was leaving for my training, my wife gave birth to our daughter, and that was the hardest thing for me to be away from my newborn, but I had to train. I got to experience my daughter for the first time since her birth on May 3, when I returned to Pakistan.

“”Boxing can be so lonely. But I am glad I won this world title, and I feel my daughter is very lucky for me. My wife and kids couldn’t be there because of the complete airspace shutdown. But my parents, my siblings, and my relatives saw me win the world title at home, among my people of Quetta, Balochistan, and that felt like a dream,” Waseem said