The Khademi vs Ahmed fight will be broadcast on Saturday 27th February at 7.30pm on BT Sport 1
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From escaping the Taliban to fighting for BT Sport
Kaisy 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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Natasha Jonas unified the welterweight division by defeating Ivana Habazin by clear points on Saturday to add the WBC title to her IBF crown at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool.
Jonas (16-2-1, 9 KO) was last seen defending her title in January in a hard-fought split decision over Mikaela Mayer, while Habazin (23-6, 7 KO) won the vacant WBC welterweight title in her home country. time out, winning by wide points over Kinga Magyar.
After a technical opening round, Jonas settled into a steady rhythm before landing a powerful right hand in the fourth round that crushed Habazin.
There was a rivalry, but the home favorite was much better in the rallies and seemed to be losing round after round.
This situation lasted until the final bell, when Jonas became the winner by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92.
Price is closing in on Jonas’ match
Lauren Price definitely stayed on as a collision course with Jonas and easily defended her WBA and IBO welterweight titles after a third-round fight against Bexcy Mateus.
Mateus (7-1, 6 KO) was on board in the first round, after the Welshman landed a powerful left hand, and the Colombian struggled to match Price’s speed.
The same shot caused the 29-year-old to repeat the punch in the second round, and the round later ended when another stinging left hand stunned Meteus and she fell to the canvas, after which the fight was stopped.
Price (8-0, 2 KO) has agreed to face Jonas next, and promoter Ben Shalom revealed it could be announced next week.
Knife edge passes McKenna
Lee Cutler scored an upset victory to claim the silver WBC International welterweight title after winning a majority decision against Stephen McKenna.
McKenna (15-1, 14 KO) was eliminated in the first round, his knee touching the canvas after being tagged, and Cutler (15-1, 7 KO) took full advantage of his opponent’s weakness in the seventh round when his right hand plunged into his knee. The Irishman who ultimately fell once again.
McKenna was relentless in his attacks and landed a huge number of punches.
The balance of 94-94 was surpassed by the scores of 95-93 and 96-92, which ensured the victory for Cutler.
Jeffers stopped Quartey
Mark Jeffers is on track for large fights in 2025 after defeating Joshua Quartey to defend his silver Commonwealth super middleweight title.
A pair of right hands put Quartey (10-1, 9 KO) on the board, and although he broke the count, a well-placed body shot after the restart by Jeffers (19-0, 6 KO) blew the guy away again.
A crazy attack after the restart forced a stoppage.
Riley secures Chamberlain’s face-off with a stoppage
Viddal Riley finished the heavyweight fight and stopped Dan Garber in the second of the scheduled six rounds.
Riley (12-0, 7 KO) hit Garber (7-4, 2 KO) with his right hand, and then his next attack forced the referee’s intervention.
Riley’s next match will be against Isaac Chamberlain on February 1.
Undercard remaining
Mason Cartwright (21-4-1, 8 KO) won all six rounds at super welterweight against Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-25, 7 KO), and Hope lightweight Frankie Stringer (9-0, 1 KO) did the same in the fight against Tatenda Mangombe (3-9-1).
In the flyweight division, Mikie Tallon (6-0) defeated Benn Norman (7-7) with a body shot in the first round of the match, and then settled for a 59-54 victory.
The only fighter to fight four rounds in the super featherweight division was Mason Devine (6-0, 1 KO), who won every session against Jayo Fernando Duran (15-34-1, 14 KO).
Dillian Whyte has revealed his predictions for the hotly anticipated rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Fury, who knocked out Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022, will seek revenge for the only defeat of his career in just 11 days, after losing to Usyk by split decision earlier this year.
Despite losing the night, “The Gypsy King” was a major success and many are struggling to pick a winner in his second battle against the imperious Ukrainian.
Some experts believe Fury needs to be more aggressive and take the lead if he is to win.
I’m talking to Social boxingWhyte revealed he shared that view, asking the Morecambe man to return to the game plan that saw him destroy Deontay Wilder in the return leg.
“It’s a great fight, man, I’m still trying to think – how will this fight go?
“Okay, Fury can make changes, but Usyk can make changes too. It’s a tough fight, a very, very tough fight for both fighters.
“If I were Fury’s coach, I would tell him he has to play aggressively.
“Fight him like you fought Wilder the second time.
“Bring back the aggression, bring back the tyrant!
“This is heavyweight boxing – you never know.”
It is unclear whether Fury will heed the advice of Whyte and others in the boxing world who have advised him to take the fight to Usyk, but looks noticeably heavier than before the first fight.
What are the changes? ❌@Tyson_Fury says he will exploit exactly the same game plan as the first time when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the month.
Thinks? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/VtpEwLJkWx
— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) December 6, 2024
Win or lose, the 36-year-old could face a long-awaited home fight against Anthony Joshua, even though “A.J.” interrupted defeat against Daniel Dubois in September.
While it may not have been as great a spectacle as it once was, a clash between Joshua and Fury would still be by far the biggest all-British fight in recent memory.
As for Whyte, he returns to the ring next Sunday night and will face Ghanaian heavyweight Ebenezer Tetteh live on DAZN in Gibraltar.
The All-American fight between lightweight world champions Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson is one of the most anticipated fights in all of boxing.
Both Davis and Stevenson are undefeated multi-weight champions and are staples on any respected pound-for-pound list.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for assuming that the pair locking corners in their prime years is a given, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future.
“Tank” spoke to the media at the press conference inaugurating his performance March 1 fight with Lamont Roach, and when the prospect of fighting Stevenson arose, he didn’t seem particularly interested.
The Baltimore hitter even went so far as to question what his compatriot did to deserve him.
“What for? Who has Shakur [beat]? What did Shakur do?
“What has he achieved in sports? He didn’t do anything! Juvenile people look better than him!”
“Keyshawn [Davis] you look so much better than that nigga! Shout it out nigga, he ain’t done nothing!
I asked Gervonta about a possible fight with Shakur… #Box #TankRoach pic.twitter.com/T1eNFJ9iIO
— Dwa O Dwa Z.. (@Noo_Barzz) December 3, 2024
“Why the hell are you saying his name?”
Like Davis, Stevenson will also return to action in the first quarter of next year, fighting against up-and-comer Floyd Schofield on the February 22 Riyad season card.
The Newark southpaw has been sidelined since his July decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan after he had to withdraw from a proposed October fight with Joe Cordina due to injury.
Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his willingness to have a fight between the two virtuosos, provided both are successful in their upcoming fights.
‼️ His Excellency Turki Alalshikh stated that he wants the Gervonta Davis vs Shakur Stevenson fight: “My plan for Shakur is this fight [vs Floyd Schofield]then William Zepeda, and then let’s see if Tank wants to come on our show.” [@DAZNBoxing] pic.twitter.com/Mmi6hO7Fjo
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) December 3, 2024
While he undoubtedly has the talent to rival Davis, Stevenson is not as commercial a star as his rival, and some critics believe he needs to start giving more entertaining performances if he wants to get substantial names.
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