Waseem spoiling for Mthalane rematch

The 32-year-old from Quetta lost Mthalane in controversial circumstances in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight fight in Malaysia last July.

 
 
 
 
 
James Jose
dubai - After dusting off Conrado Tanamor, his opponent from the Philippines in the Rotunda Rumble, world title challenger Pakistan's Muhammad Waseem is spoiling for a rematch with South African Moruti Mthalane.
The 32-year-old from Quetta lost Mthalane in controversial circumstances in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight fight in Malaysia last July.
Waseem had gone up against the South African in the undercard for boxing legend Manny Pacquiao's 'Fight of Champions' bout with Lucas Matthysse. And the pair tangoed over 12 rounds and although Waseem came out better from the fight after leaving Mthalane wobbling and both his eyes swollen, the judges ruled 114-113, 114-113 and 116-110 in the South African's favour.
Waseem underlined his credentials with a KO over Tanamor in 62 seconds in the first round and confirmed he was spoiling for another fight with Mthalane. "I said it before that I'm the best flyweight and I proved myself before," Waseem told reporters.
"Unfortunately, they couldn't give me the IBF world title. So, I'm looking forward to a rematch with Mthalane. If it happens, I'm ready to fight again," he added.
Waseem a class apart against Tanamor but said that he hadn't taken the Filipino boxer lightly.
"I never take any fighter lightly. He's a good fighter, he has a good record, 11 fights and just three losses, and he's a former Asian title holder and won a belt as well. It was a very good fight and I trained very hard for this fight, six months in Glasgow with Danny Vaughan. When you work hard, you get the results. Now, I'm looking forward to my next fight," said Waseem, who formerly trained with former IBO super featherweight champion Jeff Mayweather in Las Vegas for three years.
He joined the MTK Global stable last year and now trains at Glasgow with Vaughan. Waseem is one of the leading lights to emerge from Pakistan and he is eager to give back to his country by helping budding talent back home.
"I spoke to the MTK CEO and my trained Danny Vaughan that I would love to take MTK to Pakistan and I'm willing to oversee that in my country. There are some good fighters in Pakistan. It would be great to bring the talent in Pakistan together," he said.
james@khaleejtimes.com