Lack of govt support costs boxer his WBO Youth World title

GILGIT: The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has stripped Pakistani boxer Usman Wazir of the WBO Youth World Title due to his failure to submit the required fee.

Wazir, hailing from Astore in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, is widely known as ‘The Asian Boy’. He announced the unfortunate news in a video posted on his social media page after securing his 13th consecutive victory on Thursday at the SpacePlus Night Club in Bangkok.

The 24-year-old Wazir, who boasts an undefeated record of 13 wins with 9 knockouts, retained his perfect record by stopping his Thai opponent Oatsada Sirianantakun in the third round. Despite this victory, Wazir lost his WBO Welterweight World Youth title, which he had clinched in September 2022 by defeating another Thai opponent, Somphot Seesa, in the sixth round.

Wazir successfully defended his title in February last year against Thai challenger Krung Kling in Dubai. The recent bout against Sirianantakun was intended to be his third title defense. However, his inability to pay the requisite fee led to the WBO vacating his title despite his victory in the ring.

“Alhamdulillah, I have won my 13th international fight and kept my undefeated record (13-0). But unfortunately, I couldn’t secure my WBO World Youth title,” a visibly disappointed Wazir said in his video message.

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Addressing his fans, he added, “As you all know, I’m Pakistan’s first-ever youth champion. This fight was also scheduled for defending the title, but I couldn’t submit the fees and bear the expenses for that, due to which the WBO federation vacated my title. Without fighting, I lost the game. Pakistan lost the game.

Wazir expressed his frustration over the lack of support from the Pakistani government and the nation. He lamented, “I invested 9 to 10 years to win the title, and I achieved success, but the government of Pakistan didn’t support me. The Pakistani nation didn’t support me. In Pakistan, only one sport gets support, apparently pointing at cricket. But it shouldn’t happen. We are also in sports. We also work hard, better than them (cricketers).”

Despite winning prestigious titles such as the WBC Middle-East, ABF Welterweight, and WBA Asia Welterweight, Wazir said he chose to remain in Pakistan, unlike other athletes who seek nationality from other countries for better opportunities. “I wanted to promote boxing in the country,” he added, underscoring his dedication to the sport and his nation.

On the other hand, Pakistani boxer Taimoor Khan also won his match against his Thai opponent Nattapon Plangpimai. In one of the main fights, the electrifying undefeated world-ranked power-puncher “The Diamond Boy” Taimoor Khan (13 wins with 9 knockouts) defeated Nattapon Plangpimai for a round two technical knockout win to earn the Asian Boxing Federation (ABF) Heavyweight Strap.