Muhammad Waseem Wants a Rematch With Moruti Mthalane
On July 15, 2018, in Kuala Lumpur, world flyweight contender Muhammad Waseem (10-1, 7 KOs) stepped into the ring to face the biggest challenge of his career in IBF World Flyweight champion, Moruti Mthalane (39-2, 26 KOs). Coming off of a 14-month layoff due to managerial and promotional issues, the man from Quetta, Pakistan was determined to become the first fighter from his country to win a world title.
Unfortunately, the fighter known as “Falcon” came up a bit short. His inactivity leading into his battle proved costly as Waseem got off to a slow start. While he came on strong during the second half of the bout, the Pakistani fighter came up just a bit short as the South African champion retained the title by a close unanimous decision (114-113, 114-113, 116-111).
As he explained to Humayoun Ahmed Khan of Dawn.com, while strongly believing his hand should have been raised in victory on the night, the issues outside of the ring did weigh on him.
“If you look at that fight and the comments people made, you’ll realize that I had won the championship against South African Moruti Mthalane. I was on my own then. I didn’t have a managing company. Since I was fighting against the organizers’ own man, it went against me.”
Waseem rightly feels that he didn’t have the proper push and managerial backing heading into his world title challenge two years ago. Now, as of his signing with MTK global in 2019, he feels his career is on the right track.
SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR “THE FALCON”?
Since suffering the only loss of his professional career, Waseem has rebounded with wins over Conrado Tanamor and former WBC Light Flyweight champion Ganigan Lopez. He next bout was scheduled to be against Ryan Farrag in Kazakhstan in March 2020. However, that was canceled due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently in his home country of Pakistan, Waseem is training and waiting to hear word on his next bout. Currently ranked #4 by the IBF at 112-pounds, his ultimate goal is to get a rematch against Mthalane. The 38-year-old IBF champ has no fight lined up currently. It’s unknown when we will next see the old master in the ring. One thing is for sure, however; if it’s up to Waseem, he would love the opportunity to be the champ’s next opponent.
According to him, his team has attempted to make a rematch, but to no avail so far.
“We are pressing Mthalane for a challenge again, but he doesn’t want to fight me.”
Their first fight was highly entertaining. It would be great to see these two warriors battle again.
By: Michael Wilson Jr
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