In a country like Pakistan where almost all athletes barring a few who play cricket at the highest-level struggle to stay competitive, it is no mean feat to become a champion — not once but twice — and that too with little or no support from the officials.

Muhammad Waseem has become the face of boxing in Pakistan and his recent triumph in Dubai on November 26 to become the World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver Fly champion only endorses the fact that belief, hard work and attitude seldom fail to materialize.

The 34-year-old, who is also known as ‘Falcon’, has recently landed in Karachi where while exclusively talking to Bol News, he revealed that his journey has been extremely tough.

“My boxing journey has been very difficult,” said Waseem. “There was a time when I was participating at the national level and I didn’t have shoes to play with. Sometimes, I didn’t have enough to eat so I had a hard time living. When I think about all those times, it is not a feeling I want to remember. The life of an athlete is very difficult in Pakistan. After making many sacrifices, small-town boys like me make a name for themselves. I was lucky enough to get an international promoter and I moved on but I know many of my fellow boxers are still struggling to make ends meet.”

During the bout against Colombia’s Rober Barrera which lasted full 12 rounds, Waseem suffered a concussion because of several head injuries but showed enormous courage to stay on and eventually lifted the title.

‘Warrior’s heart’

Talking about the motivation to stay on despite adverse circumstances, the 34-year-old stated that he wants to fight at any cost.

“Boxing is a dangerous sport,” he said. “All my fights so far in professional boxing have been very difficult. In my last fight against Rober Barrera, I suffered a head injury due to which it was very difficult to continue in the last rounds, but I managed to do so. There is always uncertainty about life and death in boxing. We are mentally prepared to face any kind of situation. Even if I get injured, I have only one thing in my mind that as long as I have life in me, I will keep fighting.”

He continued by saying: “I have a warrior’s heart and the unrelenting courage to fight with the hurdles that embroil your life to stop you, and the training patterns. Otherwise, many boxers have come and gone in this country yet I’m the only one who has reached at this level by the grace of God.”

No acknowledgement

Over the years, Waseem has remained extremely vocal about the injustice athletes face in Pakistan and this time, he lamented the fact that Prime Minister Imran Khan did not even acknowledge his achievement.

“Cricket is not an Olympic sport and yet all the attention is paid to it,” he said. “It is hardly played in 10 to 15 countries and yet our government and people put all their energy for them. Pakistan cricket team recently did not even win the World Cup and yet people celebrated their return. But here, I won such a big fight and the irony is that the Prime Minister [Imran Khan] did not even tweet for me. It is clear why we never do well at Olympic games because no one wants to do anything about it.”

‘No shortage of talent’

Boxing is not a sport that is easily accessible to young kids living in different parts of the country but even then, the Quetta-born believes that if provided proper facilities, Pakistan can have international-level boxers in the country.

“There is no shortage of talent in Pakistan,” he said. “There is a lot of talent in amateur boxing but a major problem is that those kids do not have a road map to follow. It is because of this reason that fake bodies are working without recognition of international bodies and are exploiting youngsters who are wasting their time and energy. I have talked to my promoter to build a world-class facility for boxers in Pakistan and they have assured me that they soon will build a proper gym to bring out the talent. This can play an important role in producing international standard boxers.”

Talking about his future goals, Waseem remains optimistic about creating history in Pakistan boxing.

“I have become the WBC silver Champion for the second time and I am happy to qualify for the WBA & WBC world title,” he said. “Next eight months are very important for my career. I want to create a history and become the first-ever Pakistani-born world champion in boxing. My marketing company is hoping to stage a world title fight in Pakistan in 2022.”