‘My professional boxing career ruined by officials’

KARACHI: Pakistan’s boxing authorities don’t seem to have taken seriously the country’s star boxer Mohammad Waseem’s case regarding professional boxing.
Since 2011, AIBA Executive Director and World Series of Boxing (WSB) Executive Board Member Ho Kim has been sending letters to Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) regarding the opportunities for Pakistani boxers to play in the WSB and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB).
PBF top officials claim that on each occasion they forwarded the letters to the officials concerned but Waseem says they never did. “I believe they have never forwarded my letters to the officials concerned,” he told ‘The News’ from Quetta on Monday.
“Had they forwarded my letters I would have played in the WSB and would have been in a position to even win Olympic medal for Pakistan,” the dejected Waseem said.
‘The News’ has got copies of a couple of such letters, addressed by Ho Kim to PBF.
A letter forwarded by Kim to PBF on December 23, 2011, said: “As you are aware and have been informed, AIBA is in preparation of the start of APB competitions (AIBA Professional Boxing) by July 2013. Therefore, the reservation of AIBA boxers for the APB first season is our top priority.
“After the evaluation of all boxers who participated in the AIBA World Championships Baku 2011, we now would like to enlist Mohammad Waseem (52kg) whom we request you to secure for APB. As the boxer might be contacted by other professional organisation, your support on blocking this boxer for the APB program would be greatly appreciated.
“Our office plans to send our detailed proposal on the terms and conditions for these boxers once the boxer’s contract is finalised by February 2012. Therefore, we would appreciate it if you could talk now with the boxer and coach to ensure their availability. Once again, we appreciate your full support on AIBA’s most important and revolutionary initiatives for the betterment of our sport, national federations and most importantly for our boxers,” said the letter.
At that time PBF was headed by Doda Bhutto as president and Mohammad Akram Khan as secretary.
Doda told this correspondent the other day that he had signed the letter, but did not know whether Akram had forwarded it to Kim or not.
Akram said that PBF had received such a letter and he had forwarded it to Kim with the details of Waseem. “Then we did not get any response from them,” Akram told this correspondent.
“I think it was also published in the newspapers at that time. It would have been a real boost to our boxing if a few of our boxers had played APB,” he said.
But Waseem rubbished Akram’s claims. “When Doda signed the letter I gave it to Akram who told me to leave it to him (Akram). But I don’t believe he ever sent it to the official concerned,” Waseem said.
On June 24, 2013, Kim forwarded a letter to all AIBA national member federations with the subject “invitation to boxers to participate in the WSB seasons 5 and 6”. In the letter Kim informed the member federations that AIBA/WSB has decided to open the WSB season 5 and 6 competitions to all national federations which could then use these competitions as qualifying events if their boxers were selected to participate by any WSB franchise.
“(a) Please fill out and send to AIBA/WSB the attached application form to participate in these WSB two consecutive seasons. (b) AIBA/WSB will evaluate the application forms and add them in the WSB foreign boxers draft which will be held on December 10, 2014,” the letter said.
“All selected boxers must stay for two consecutive WSB seasons. The franchises will not be allowed to cover only the salaries of these foreign boxers but will also pay the bout bonus at each franchise’s discretion and the travel costs,” it said.
But Waseem said that the PBF did not respond to this letter either.
Doda said that he did not know about any such letter.
But his secretary Iqbal Hussain said he had sent the name of Waseem in 2013 and in 2014 he had sent the names of Waseem and Amir Khan to AIBA which had forwarded the details to the franchises.
“But the franchises did not purchase our boxers. I think, very few foreign boxers were hired,” Iqbal said.
But Waseem strongly rejected this claim. “How can’t I play in the WSB? I am a medallist of Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. If Kenyan boxer Benson Gicharu can play in the WSB for a German franchise why can’t I?” Waseem said.
“Benson had won the bronze medal while I had got the silver medal in Glasgow Commonwealth Games. I had also beaten Benson in the flyweight final in the international event in Islamabad,” he said.
“The real problem is that no one wants me to play professional boxing. My career has been destroyed,” Waseem said.