"Waseem showed the true heart of a champion"
Pakistani boxing star Muhammad Waseem beat Giemel Magramo of the Philippines to retain his WBC Silver Flyweight title at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.
After a highly intense 12 round fight, the judges awarded a 3-0 unanimous decision in favour of Waseem.
Born in Quetta, 29-year-old Waseem is known for his swift, yet sharp style of boxing.
Known as Falcon Khan, Waseem became the first Pakistani boxer to clinch the WBC Silver belt title after defeating Philippines Jether Oliva in July 2016.
For his title defense, Waseem knew he was facing a tough opponent. Prior to this fight, Magramo was unbeaten in his last 17 bouts.
Waseem, a silver medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games was also undefeated since joining the professional circuit in June 2015.
Leading up to the fight, Waseem went through vigorous training with coach Jeff Mayweather at the famous Floyd Mayweather Jr boxing club in Las Vegas.
Magramo started the better of the two, winning the initial three rounds. However, Waseem fought back strongly to win his second world title.
The Philippine boxer was quite helpless against the Pakistani fighter during the latter rounds. A defiant Waseem won the fight by a difference of one point according to each of the three judges.
Following his triumph, commenting on the fight, Waseem spoke to the media saying:
“No doubt it was a tough fight. In the initial few rounds I wanted to make Magramo tired and I did that. Then onwards, particularly in the last three to four rounds I boxed well.”
“I also received a few cuts, one above the eye, because Magramo wanted to hit me in the head and several times warned by the referee. It’s a good win again.”
Pleased with Waseem’s performance, coach Mayweather said:
“Lots of give and take on both sides. Waseem showed the true heart of a champion as he was down by three points on the scorecards and ended up winning by three points.”
Following his success, Waseem arrived to a rousing welcome in Pakistan.
Javed Afridi, owner of PSL Peshawar Zalmi announced Waseem as an Ambassador for his team. He also pledged to sponsor Waseem for his future fights.
With Waseem claiming his fifth professional win, his next big challenge will be to fight against Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua.
DESIbiltz congratulates Muhammad Waseem and the people of Quetta on his victory.
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