Waseem knocks out Trejos in Panama

KARACHI: World Boxing Council (WBC) two-time world silver flyweight champion Mohammad Waseem won another fight when he knocked out Ivan Trejos of Panama in the third round of their international friendly at the loser’s backyard early Sunday morning.

“I am very happy that I have won another fight. I will continue working hard and am very thankful to people who pray for me,” Waseem said after the fight.Waseem took a calm start and did not seem aggressive in the beginning. However, in the third round he showed glimpses of a world champion and his rival had no reply to the way the two-time world silver champion sprayed him with a series of punches that caused his collapse in front of a cheering crowd.

Waseem’s coach Jeff Mayweather was also very happy with the result. “I am always very happy with a win,” Jeff told ‘The News’ after the bout from Panama.“He began it a bit slow but kept his rival under pressure and eventually emerged victorious,” said Jeff, uncle of former great Floyd Mayweather Junior.

The 23-year-old Trejos is the highest-ranked boxer of Panama. Wasim had knocked out Eliecer Valdez of Panama in the first week of this month in Panama.

The purpose of Waseem’s fights in Panama is to prepare him for his world title bout which he is expected to play early next year.

Japan’s Diago Higa, current flyweight world champion, is expected to meet Welsh Andrew Selby in September. Selby defeated Christopher Rosales of Nicaragua in the world title eliminator in Cardiff recently.

Waseem, 2014 Incheon Asian Games bronze medallist, is expected to challenge the winner of that bout for the global crown.

After entering the pro circuit in early 2015, Waseem progressed rapidly and clinched WBC silver world flyweight crown in only his fourth pro fight — the only boxer in the world to do so. He achieved the milestone on July 17, 2016, by defeating Jether Oliva of the Philippines.

The Quetta-born boxer, nicknamed Falcon, went on to defeat Giemel Magramo of the Philippines on November 27, 2016, to defend his title.

After that win, he failed to play in competitive circuit for six months because of lack of sponsorship. He returned to ring when Pakistan government released a handsome purse of Rs24 million for his training.

Waseem will play another fight near the end of August in Columbia. “He will move to Columbia in a couple of days to play his next bout near the end of August,” his promoter Andy Kim told ‘The News’ from South Korea on Sunday.

Waseem last month achieved the World No1 ranking that stunned the boxing world, which has boosted his confidence. The pugilist served Pakistan with great dedication in amateur circuit for over a decade. Besides taking a bronze in the Asiad, Waseem also has to his credit one silver and one bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games.

However, he did not feature in Olympics. Unluckily, he missed the Olympic spot when he lost the quarter-final in the Asian qualifying round for 2012 London Olympics in Astana.

As AIBA has introduced new rules allowing pros to become part of Olympics, Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) plans to field Waseem in the 2020 Olympics qualifiers.“We will see this. If Waseem gets time then after AIBA’s nod we will field him in the qualifiers for Olympics,” a senior official of PBF told ‘The News’ last week.