Usman Wazeer: A Tale of knock-off titles and corruption in boxing

KARACHI:

Fake it till you make it: is a horrid adage; it is confusing and permits a person to be inauthentic, even if it is to have a positive effect on one’s psyche.

Boxer Usman Wazeer is a great example of living by the adage, except he is found faking it, and despite what looks like a success on his part, it is turning out to be a superficial one with a bunch of bogus titles.

The 25-year-old is also a recipient of the Presidential Award 2024 (Tamgha e Imtiaz), and that alone shows that no one in the government really cares about who they are honouring, either; their lack of diligence is exemplary.

Wazeer has found a reasonable following on social media too, where is boasts about the 17-0 undefeated record in professional boxing.

Through his socail media, it is evident that he is advertising himself to be the sole winner of belts, that are won in Dubai (4), in differnt cities of Pakistan (5), in Philippines (2) but mostly in Bangkok (6), Thailand, that is notorious for hosting fixed fights in boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai.

The gaps in awareness when it comes to boxing in Pakistan were on full display last week, when Wazeer claimed the World Boxing Council (WBC) Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super welterweight silver title in Bangkok, Thailand, in a bout against a 44-year-old Indonesian boxer, judge, and promoter Stevie Ongen Ferdinandus.

As if that is not enough to raise eyebrows, the bouts for the said title, for which Wazeer is lauded so profusely, have only ever occurred twice before, once in 2017 and another in 2018, according to Boxrec.

And even then, it only says that the title is for the regional OPBF and now WBC.

After that, Wazeer is the first person to take this title, which makes it questionable, as this is not the bout either promoted on the Japan-based OPBF website, and neither on the WBC website.

In fact, when The Express Tribune reached out to the OPBF to confirm Wazeer's title win, they never replied or clarified.

Similarly, when one checked the WBC website and the posts from August, nowhere is Wazeer mentioned, nor is his bout promoted.

The only mention of Wazeer on OPBF website is in their regional rating for August, where he is on fourth place in his weight category.

Wazeer, also known as Asian Boy, has to clarify details about his career, not only to the boxing fans and people who are being tricked into believing that he indeed is the only Pakistani boxer to win accolades in professional bouts, to the sponsors who have supported him.

When The Express Tribune reached out to Wazeer with obvious question, he never replied, either.

However, it has been reported in Pamir Times, where the publication incorrectly wrote that he won a WBC title, Wazeer hit back on the Pakistan Boxing Federation (affliated by the Pakistan Olympic Association and the International Olympic Committee, and is responsible for amateur boxers) and another promotional body Pakistan Pro-Green Boxing Federation (PGBF).

In the local press in Gilgit-Baltistan, he dismissed the concerns as just 'boxing politics' upon his return from Thailand. And it can be that, but it can also be true that he has been taking on bouts that are carefully planned and are fought against the journeymen.

Wazeer's record is against weak boxers

If one starts to look at Wazeer's 17 bouts and the opponents, it can be observed that his opponents are either ranked very poorly on reputed boxing resources like Boxrec or not rated at all.

For example, the rating of a boxer on Boxrec shows the quality of the opponents and the fights for each boxer.

Wazeer is rated two and a half stars.

His latest opponent Ferdinandus, is rated one star, and this is a title bout for the OPBF Super Welterweight.

Wazeer's strongest opponent so far was Fikiri Salum Mohamed that he took on for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Youth Welterweight title defence in 2023 bout that took place in Pakistan, but the Tanzanian too is rated just two and a half stars, while the bout in which he won the title for was against Thailand's Phatiphan Krungklang, who is rated a half star.

His three opponents from 2020 to 2021 in the Asian Boxing Federation welterweight title bouts, Boido Simanjuntak, Carlos Lopez, and Ramadhan Weriuw, are not even rated properly.

Absence of any national title

Wazeer's name is not found in any of the four legitimate world boxing ratings, and when The Express Tribune tried to find his national record, the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) gave details of only one bout.

"Wazeer has appeared in only one domestic event, which was in 2015, it was an inter-provincial championship, where he lost to a boxer from Sindh named Balach.

"We have not been able to trace any other fights of Wazeer's. He is not a great boxer because, had he been worth his salt, he would've won at some national championships.

"Pakistan has a lot of raw talent in boxing, and the top pugilists are usually scouted by the Army and Wapda, and the departments really take them forward. But Wazeer does not even have enough talent to compete at an amateur level, how can he be claiming these professional titles?" said the PBF secretary, Major Irfan Younis.

And he is fair in questioning Wazeer's credentials, as most of the quality boxers who turn pro go through the process of competing at amateur competitions that pave the way to the Olympics and other regional games.

In many ways, amateur boxing is considered to be more transparent but less lucrative than professional boxing.

"If you look at Muhammad Waseem's example, you can see he was a champion, through and through, he won the gold at World Combat Games, he won gold at the Commonwealth Games and South Asian Games, and medals at the Asian Games before turning pro, you can see the journeys of other boxers too, and you will see that there are legitimate records where they perform at amateur level and then graduate to pro.

"It hurts the sport for other Pakistani boxers who are taking the legitimate routes, but they do not get even a penny from the government, while boxers like Wazeer, who are manufactured champions, get funded by the government. It is absolutely unfair. I have nothing against him personally, but it is wrong information to say he won a WBC title and claim these fights to be legitimate."

Pakistan's solitary Olympic medal winner, Shah Hussain, too, only turned pro after grabbing the bronze medal at the Seoul Games 1988.

But even he could not make much of his name in professional boxing,because at the elite level, the game is just that competitive and ruthless.

To put things into context, Wazeer's record to remain undefeated for 17 bouts would actually make him out to be more impressive than Manny Pacquiao's in his first 17 fights, but it is about the quality of those bouts that matters.

Recognition from the government

On the back of the record of these 17 wins, with 12 knockouts Wazeer has often appealed to the government for support and he did recieve Rs one million in 2022, while in May 2025 the Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also honoured Wazeer for defeating an Indian opponent Eswaran S, who has only appeared in six pro bouts and has a Boxrec rating of half a star.

Wazeer also received the Presidential Award in 2024. He has also managed to get sponsors, while the real talent who are winning and losing through legitimate bouts are ignored in the presence of fake success.

Legitimacy of Wazeer's bouts and how the bouts are fixed

The boxing insiders, including a top coach from the United Kingdom, Danny Vaughan, alluded that titles such as Wazeer’s are often bought with money.

"These boxers win versions of different titles that are useless, and these boxers are not even in the top 50 or 100 on the official ratings; most of these fights are fixed and don't hold any worth," Vaughan told The Express Tribune.

Vaughan's pupil since 2018, Waseem, who has an extensive experience in amateur boxing and then in professional boxing, being the WBC Flyweight Silver Champion in 2016 and the current World Boxing Assocaiton Gold World Champion, added that as corrupt the boxing world is, there are bouts that are fixed with weaker opponents often and the organiser recieves money from the boxers to hold those fights.

"At the end of it all, it is a vanity project for such boxers, because they know they are not genuine, and their opponents are often weak, and they pay money for these bouts in Thailand and elsewhere. This kind of activity used to happen in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but now they have banned it," said Waseem.

"If you are to ask these smaller bodies about the fights, they would never admit or deny anything, because they take money for these bouts.

"But then there are real boxers who really put their lives on the line for this game. We really work hard and go against all the odds to actually win fairly and squarely, and I feel it is unfair to us. It is also unfair to the boxers who are honest. And this kind of trend in Pakistan is also corrupting the aspiring boxers, because they think this is an easy way to get fame and money, without actually fighting in highly competitive bouts.

"There are many boxers who are following Wazeer's example now, and all of this would have been great if it were not fake," added the Quetta-born boxer who has extensively trained abroad, including a peroid with Floyd Mayweather's uncle Jeff Mayweather at their gym.

Some education on boxing bodies

"These titles hold no clout; they are mocking the game of boxing," said Vaughan on the phone when asked about his expert opinion on the title that Wazeer has won.

Vaughan is deeply connected to the game and business of boxing, with a long line of boxers and boxing coaches in the family, including his father and brother.

Vaughan claims to be from a boxing heritage that goes back to the 1800s.

The Liverpudlian has been a boxing coach who is responsible for training world, Commonwealth, and Olympic champions alongside his father.

He says in his experience spanning over 35 years, he has never seen these titles to be worth any recognition.

He is also the coach of the first Pakistani boxer to claim a WBC title, Waseem, who was dually recognised and ranked by WBC on their monthly rating over the years, and his bouts were featured on their main news section on their website for claiming and defending the WBC Silver Flyweight title in 2016.

Vaughan was side by side when Waseem fought the International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Champion Sunny Edwards for the WBC Flyweight World Championship title.

Since then, he fought legitimate bouts and has claimed the World Boxing Association's Gold Bantamweight World title in May 2025 with a pro record of 16 bouts, 10 wins through Knockouts out of 14 and only two losses, including the one against Edwards in 2022.

"Waseem is a superstar, people respect him, he is known all over the world, and I feel these people are benefiting from what he did. But he is doing his best to educate people in Pakistan about it, on the government level as well.

"It is frustrating to see that these boxers are getting fake titles in Thailand and then claiming that they are champions so that they can get the money from the government. They are cheating the game, the fans, and the government.

"There are four main boxing bodies in the world: the WBC, the IBF, the WBA, and the WBO. These are the bodies that sanction fights, and they are recognised; the rest do not matter, those belts are bogus," explained Vaughan.

"The WBC and other bodies don't even know these boxers who claim to have these belts."

Vaughan further elaborated that this kind of corruption and fake titles cannot be tolerated in the UK, as there is a British Boxing Board of Control that regulates and governs the professional boxers, and if any boxer tried to pull this off, they would get caught immediately.

Bad treatment and lack of support for athletes

Pakistan has a record of not valuing its boxers and other non-cricket-playing athletes, and in a country where basic sports facilities are not available, and a boxing federation that has a history of infighting among the officials and a strong propensity for favouritism, discrimination, and nepotism, it is no surprise that aspiring boxers take shortcuts. After all, who would not want to change their life through the sport they love?

The practices these boxers are adopting are a symptom of a deeper systemic, institutional, and cultural problem where athletes are treated as labourers or often less than.

The only way to stop the corruption in boxing, for starters, is to have transparency and accountability, to form a national regulatory body for the professional game, and to form a proper pathway that can provide opportunities for boxers to pursue careers in amateur and pro boxing.

There are many boxers who want to improve their lives through the sport, and often they end up doing wrong things because they are a product of a very broken system that allows them to be manipulated and fall prey to corrupt elements, be it what Wazeer is doing, or the example of Aliya Soomro, who fought in a fight in Thailand and returned to Karachi claiming she is the first Pakistani woman to win and international title, or legitimate talent ike Asian bronze medallist Zohaib Rasheed, who disappeared in Italy while participating at the Paris Olympics qualifiers.

Click here to read article