Pakistan’s Waseem knocks out Filipino to become flyweight champ

• Wasim took only 82 seconds to knock out the Filipino in the first round of the flyweight bout.
• "I’d had already announced that after winning the bout I’ll dedicate it to my Kashmiri brethren, so I’m dedicating this win to them".

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pugilist Mohammad Waseem made the nation proud when he won his world ranking fight by knocking out Philippines Canrado Tanamor at Dubai’s Caesars on late Friday.

According information received here, Wasim took only 82 seconds to knock out the Filipino in the first round of the flyweight bout.

The 32-year-old, who last year floored IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane in a world title bout, but ended up as loser by 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’d 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.