The Khademi vs Ahmed fight will be broadcast on Saturday 27th February at 7.30pm on BT Sport 1
Interviews
From escaping the Taliban to fighting for BT Sport
Published
3 months agoon
By
J. HumzaKaisy Khademi has been on an incredible journey and in order to one day fulfil her dream of becoming a world champion, she has already fought some of the toughest battles she will probably ever face.
Khademi (8-0, 2 KOs) defends his WBO European Super Flyweight title while the vacant IBF European crown hangs in the balance on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena when he faces Ijaz Ahmed live on BT Sport, the main event after Lyon Woodstock tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday ahead of his fight with Anthony Cacace.
Khademi now lives in London and is focused on climbing the career ladder, but it is a far cry from the troubling but fascinating childhood that saw the 26-year-old embark on a four-year journey to the UK to escape the Taliban.
Born in Kabul, Khademi was in the region during the Taliban’s rule and the outbreak of the Afghan war, a situation he remembers well.
“The war had just started, it was a very bad time to grow up,” Khademi said. proboxing-fans.com in November.
“So I was four years vintage and our family was not unthreatening at all. The war was crazy, everyone was being shot at, everyone was being killed, people were being dragged out of their homes, people were being shot at.
“At that time it was a very bad time and all we had to do was flee the country.”
After two years in Pakistan, Khademi, then six, left with up to 30 family members, heading to the UK in search of a safer life.
However, this would not be a routine journey, rather a journey full of obstacles and challenges that very few face in their lifetime.
“We walked through the jungle at night, hiding from the police, I spent a day in the shed, and then the next day I moved to another place.
“Day by day we moved from house to house and got closer and closer to the borders.
“When I was walking in the jungle, there was a moment when my foot got stuck in the mud, my shoe disappeared, I was walking on a bear foot and I had a cut all over my foot.
“I was juvenile, but there were moments when I suffered a lot, but above all it was an adventure. When I look back, it seems like an adventure because I had no responsibilities, I was juvenile, I was a child.
“The main pressure and responsibility was on the others, because if something happened, they would pay the consequences, and they didn’t want to get caught.
“Now I know that if I were that age, I would have had a lot more responsibility, it would have been a lot harder, and I would have been a lot more afraid of getting caught.
“At one point we split into three groups, we all got lost, and when we got to Germany we met up at the same camp and ended up in the same camp.”
Despite his hard past, Khademi has an admirable perspective on the path that has brought him to where he is today and uses this as motivation to achieve his ambitions in boxing.
“I am very grateful, I know how hard it is [I’ve worked] I’ve come a long way to get here, now I want to operate it positively and make something of myself.
“I’m smarter now, I can relate it more to the journey. As an amateur, I never took boxing too seriously. It was just nice to stay out of trouble.
“I never thought I would come this far. I have a lot of people giving me routes home, my whole family giving me routes, so I feel like I have a responsibility to end this journey the way we started our journey from Pakistan to get to the UK.
“It was a long journey, in many places we could have given up because we had no money, we were lost, hungry, at any moment we could have given up, given ourselves to the government and said, ‘Listen, send us back,’ they would probably lock us up for a few months and send us back.
“But we never lost hope and we kept moving towards this dream to get here and I have the same mindset to win the world title and that’s the mindset I’m using to hopefully get there.”
Saturday evening gives Khademi another chance to stay on that path when he clashes with Ijaz Ahmed in east London.
The couple were due to meet in November, but shortly after the interview, Khademi tested positive for Covid-19.
The 26-year-old is the fourth best super flyweight in the UK, according to the data. Boxrec.comhis opponent is ranked fifth and Khademi, who signed with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions in June, believes the fight could go within the scheduled ten-round distance.
“People will see the strength in me.
“They will see a lot of movement, a lot of sliding and a lot of skill, and it will be a breathtaking fight and maybe [you’ll] See knockout.
“So tune in and watch, it’s gonna be a fun fight because I know he’s coming to start a war and I’m there to start my own war.
“He probably judges me based on my last few fights, and in my last few fights I boxed with a very impoverished right hand and that’s why I was on my back foot.
“But this time people will see what my right hand is all about and I have to make a statement.”
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Janibek Alimkhanuly successfully defended his IBF middleweight crown in Sydney, systematically defeating the brave Andrei Mikhailovich, stopping him in the ninth round at The Star.
Janibek came close to stopping Mikhailovich in the second round, but had to wait before crushing him in the ninth round.
Originally, the two teams were supposed to meet in July in Las Vegas, but the undefeated Kazakh could not allow it make weight safelyand the fight had to be postponed one day until fight night.
After a delayed dispute over the WBO belt, only the IBF crown was at stake.
Janibek (16-0, 11 KO) quickly found his advantage, landing paws and body shots in the first minute, and Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KO) tried to finish the champion.
‘Qazaq Style’ waited patiently for his debut which came in the second half when a perfectly timed shot put the challenger on unsteady feet and as the maestro applied surgical pressure he began to play with the Novel Zealander who was wobbly until another powerful left hand threw it backwards and finally onto the canvas.
It was just right and the minute’s rest came at the right time as Mikhailovich fought brilliantly in the third and fourth quarters, constantly coming forward.
Janibek largely toyed with his opponent and his rival had restricted success, but in round seven he stepped on the gas, landing sturdy combinations.
However, the 26-year-old showed courage, had miniature displays of joy after clubbing, but his race came to an end in the ninth, when Janibek uncorked his customary left uppercut and Mikhailovich moved backwards towards the ropes, the referee rightly stopped the ball contest.
The 31-year-old was frustrated in trying to secure a unification fight, but once again called up WBC champion Carlos Adames and WBA champion Erislandy Lara.
“Adames or Lara, I’m ready anytime,” he told Fox Sports after the fight.
“Send me the document and I will sign it anytime.”
Motu flows from O’Connell
Another undefeated Kiwi got into action as Mea Motu (20-0, 8 KO) warmed up for a shot at the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles before forcing Shannon O’Connell to withdraw from a corner kick at the end three rounds of their catchweight fight.
The current IBO champion will face Ellie Scotney on October 26 in Manchester, who proved ruthless in several hefty attacks with two fists that broke the bloody O’Connell (24-8-1, 12 KO).
With the Australian having a huge cut and massive swelling on her head, her corner wisely threw in the towel.
Statement made by Mea Motu 😲#nolimitboxing #nolimitfox #janibekmichajłowicz pic.twitter.com/R5fvGVrlrE
— No Limit Boxing (@NoLimit_Boxing) October 4, 2024
Undercard remaining
Lightweight prospect Charlie Kazzi (7-0, 3 KO) won the WBC silver title in Australia, defeating Lui Magaiva (4-7, 1 KO) in the penultimate round of their eight-man bout.
Ahmed Reda (3-0, 3 KO) opened the card and scored his third straight early victory, defeating Joe Kara (5-7-1, 5 KO) in the second of a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.
Interviews
Janibek vs Andrei Mikhailovich – preview and predictions for the huge fight
Published
3 days agoon
October 2, 2024Unified middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly goes to Australia next Friday, to The Star in Sydney, where he will risk winning the IBF title in a fight with undefeated Up-to-date Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich, although his WBO crown is not at stake.
ESPN+ TV Janibek vs Mikhajłowicz live in the USA, however Heavenly sports broadcast the fight in the UK.
This match was originally scheduled to take place in July in Las Vegas, but the champion was reportedly hospitalized after trying to gain weight and the fight had to be canceled after a delay.
Janibek (15-0, KO10) was promoted from WBO interim champion in 2022 and defeated Denzel Bentley in his first defense.
After knocking out Steven Butler in two rounds, the Kazakhstan added the IBF title to his collection by defeating Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds last October.
“Qazaq Style” will now face undefeated Aucklander Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO), his country’s top amateur who has won multiple free titles but has no professional victories.
The 26-year-old, who holds the IBF Pan Pacific title, has not faced anyone in the Kazakhstan class, and last April he fell before scoring to stop Edison Saltarin in the fifth round.
Mikhailovich was last seen stopping Less Sherrington in the round in April.
Prediction: This could be a miniature night for Janibek, and the guy seems to be out of his league. I think the champion can hold on through a stoppage in the first half of the fight.
Motu meets O’Connell
The undercard features another undefeated Kiwi in action, with Mea Motu taking on Shannon O’Connell in a scheduled top ten super bantamweight bout.
Motu (19-0, 7 KO) is scheduled to win the IBF and WBO titles in three weeks against defending champion Ellie Scotney and cannot afford to slip up in this fight.
“The Night” will bring her IBO title to England, which she won last April on points over Tania Walters.
The 34-year-old defended twice, and in her only fight in 2024 in April, she defeated Noppaket Srisawas in two rounds.
Former Commonwealth champion O’Connell (24-7-1, 12 KO) has fought for two world titles, most recently losing an eighth-round fight for the IBF bantamweight crown against Ebana Bridges in December 2022.
The 41-year-old was last sidelined in May, defeating Siriphon Chanbuala in the second round.
Prediction: Motu’s safety will likely be paramount with such a huge fight on the horizon, and she may score points in this one.
Undercard remaining
Prospective lightweight competitor Charlie Kazzi (6-0, 2 KO) fights for eight rounds for the second time in his career and should have already defeated Lui Magaiva (4-6, 1 KO), and the fighter from Papua Up-to-date Guinea was suspended five times in six defeats.
Wayne Telepe (1-0, 1 KO) can claim his second straight stoppage victory, this time in a scheduled four-round lightweight fight against Bashir Nassir (0-1-1).
Interviews
Gervonta Davis’ opponent has been leaked and it is not Shakur Stevenson
Published
5 days agoon
September 30, 2024Gervonta Davis appears ready for a December return against WBA super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr
Roach Jr will move up in weight to challenge Davis for the WBA lightweight world title after Washington’s request to fight his compatriot was approved.
The WBA announced December 14 as the date for the Davis-Roach fight, although the location of the fight is unknown.
AND statement on the WBA website read: “The World Boxing Championships (WBA) Committee has granted special permission to super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr. move up in class and face Gervonta Davis for the lightweight championship on December 14.
“NoXcuse Boxing Promotions submitted a formal request on September 13, which was accepted by the committee for consideration and consultation with Albert Batyrgaziev’s team, which has a mandatory 130 pounds. pretender.
“After appropriate consideration and based on the organization’s internal policies, it has been decided to grant Roach’s request, subject to certain conditions.”
If Roach dethrones Davis, he will have five days to decide which belt he will keep.
If “The Reaper” loses to the undefeated knockout fighter in Baltimore, he will have to drop down to 130 pounds to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Batyrgaziev.
The 29-year-old has won six straight fights since his lone professional loss to Jamel Herring for the WBO super featherweight world championship in 2019.
Roach once defended his WBA crown, stopping Feargal McCrory in eight rounds in June, and won the belt via split decision. Hector Luis Garciawhom “Tank” stopped in nine rounds.
Davis (29) defended his belt after a stunning knockout in the eighth round Frank Martin in Las Vegas in June and is heavily linked to a unification fight with WBC champion Shakur Stevenson.
The 27-year-old is sidelined with a hand injury and is expected to go straight into a fight with William Zepeda upon his return, ahead of a potential blockbuster against Davis.
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