Fighting talk from Ijaz after narrow points win
BOXER AHMED ‘READY FOR REMATCH’ AGAINST AFGHAN REFUGEE OPPONENT
BIRMINGHAN fighter Ijaz Ahmed claimed the biggest win of his career after he defeated Kaisy Khademi in their super-flyweight clash at the Copper Box in east London last Saturday (27) to claim the WBO European belt and the vacant IBF European belt.
Ahmed, 27, won a narrow majority decision in the fight against 26-year-old Khademi, a refugee from Afghanistan who was promoted to the top of the bill on his first television appearance.
“It sounds great, it has been long time coming. With the will of Allah… I was able to push through and win. I was catching him with cleaner shots. Every time I catch him, he wanted to get away and wasn’t interested in an exchange with me,” Ahmed said after the win.
“The majority of the time I tried to put up a show for the fans and tried to be exciting, so they could comment and enjoy watching me fight. I have never been in a boring fight, ever. Thank you very much for the support. Next time I hope that you all can come and watch the fight in person.”
The behind-closed-doors show was promoted by Queensberry on BT Sport.
Though Khademi boxed well and dominated, he could never really subdue the aggressive Ahmed, who often caught his opponent with his hands low.
One judge, Howard Foster, scored it a draw 95-95, while Bob Williams and Michael Alexander plumped for Ahmed by scores of 96-94 and 96-95 respectively. Marcus McDonnell was the referee for the match.
When asked about a likely re-match because of the close call, Ahmed said he was open to it. Talking about Khademi’s struggles as a refugee, Ahmed said he was aware of the story.
“I heard stories about Khademi and it is a miracle that he could overcome all those [obstacles]. He is a fighter just like me, and the main thing is that we both came out of it safely. And we are both going back to our families in the end.”
Ahmed said that he was ready to fight Sunny Edwards, who has held the British super-flyweight title since 2019.
“Stars make fights. If a fight with Edwards is arranged, I will go for it. We all are in this game to fight and give our best. If you don’t fight you can never be the best,” he said.