Waseem becomes flyweight champion with 82-second knockout

Ag APP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pugilist Mohammad Waseem has made the nation proud after winning his world ranking fight by knocking out the Philippines’ Canrado Tanamor at Dubai’s Caesars.

Wasim took only 82 seconds to knock out the Filipino in the first round of the flyweight bout late on Friday. The 32-year-old, who last year floored IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane in a world title bout, but ended up a loser in a unanimous decision, was in action for the first time in 2019.

It was the ninth professional win for Wasim, who is also known as “Falcon” due to his quick and swift style of boxing. He had been training in Scotland for the last six months. “I’m really happy to win this fight in first-round knockout.

“I had already announced that after winning the bout I’ll dedicate it to my Kashmiri brethren, so I’m dedicating this win to them,” he said in a video message after the win. He expressed the determination to keep on working hard and bring more honours for the country in future.

“I’ve been training really hard for this fight. I knew I’ll be a world champion soon. I’ll keep on performing in future also to make my nation proud,” he added.