Pak boxer Waseem off to Scotland for training

KARACHI: Eyeing a world title this year Pakistan’s professional boxer Mohammad Waseem on Saturday flew out of Islamabad for Scotland to undergo training under the MTK global, the world’s major boxer management company which the fighter has signed recently.

Waseem is expected to begin his training at Glasgow from Monday (tomorrow).

“Yes, I am leaving for Scotland,” Waseem told ‘The News’ just hours before leaving out of the federal capital for his new stint with MTK Global.

Waseem last played an International Boxing Federation (IBF) bout last summer in Kuala Lumpur when he went down fighting against South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane. This is the only defeat which the Pakistani fighter has faced so far out of nine bouts which he has played since turning pro early 2015. But this time Waseem is looking for a world title under MTK Global which handles boxers from around the world.

In Glasgow gymnasium only flyweight boxers will undergo training for their future commitments. “Yes in Glasgow only flyweight fighters have been kept. I know about Glasgow as I have won silver medal here in 2014 during the Commonwealth Games. Its a good place and I am looking after to avail myself of the opportunity to work under MTK Global which is a professional unit working on boxers from around the globe,” the 2014 Incheon Asian Games bronze medallist said. Waseem said without caring for anything else he would now focus on his game and would like to play a bout before Ramadan.

“After Ramadan I want to play another fight and then I will be in a position to fight for the world title which is my dream,” the fighter from Quetta said.

Waseem is a rare boxer who became the World Boxing Council (WBC) world silver flyweight champion in the summer of 2015 in only his fourth bout. He then defended it strongly in November the same year. Waseem was working then under the Korea-based AK Promotions being owned by Andy Kim. Although the former World No1 did a glorious job during his stint with AK Promotions but he always faced financial issues at that time.

However now it is expected that the most accomplished company may give a boost to Waseem’s ambitions and he would be able to become the first Pakistani to claim world crown in the months to come.