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| July 14, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 17, 1427 |
Disappointment for Muzaffar, Bukhsh
KARACHI, July 13: Pakistan suffered more setbacks when ailing Muzaffar Iqbal and spirited Allah Bukhsh were beaten in the Green Hill Cup boxing semifinals on Thursday.
Muzaffar was down with fever and proved no match for the Uzbekistan’s Rustam Saidov at KPT Sports Complex.
Although Muzaffar of Pakistan Greens had displayed fine skills in the quarterfinals against Iran’s Ruoholla Housane in winning 16-13, it was a nightmare for him against Saidov who won super-heavyweight fight 30-12.
So forceful were the punches from Saidov that the fight had to be stopped by referee in the third round.
It seemed that Muzaffar might prevail for he had a better reach and boxing skills. But soon after the encounter started it was evident that Saidov would be too hot for Muzaffar to handle.
While Muzaffar was confident when the first bell rang, it proved to be a disastrous start for the Pakistani as Saidov pounded his opponent with lethal punches in the dying seconds of the first round, forcing the referee to give Muzaffar eight mandatory counts.
An aggressive game plan worked for Uzbek as he led the first round 8-7.
Saidov repeated his performance in the second round as he kept hitting Muzaffar with ferocious combination of left and right. While the Uzbek was busy in breaching Muzaffar’s guard, the Pakistani looked hapless against his rival who led 24-11.
Severe thrashing by the Uzbek once again resulted in eight counts for Muzaffar who was finding it hard to defend.
Shaky and battered, Muzaffar was again given eight counts by referee who stopped the fight as the local pugilist was unable to defend himself.
“I was not feeling well. I am suffering from fever since early morning and have a stuffy nose. It was really difficult to box in that situation. I had told the coach about my illness but who cares,” Muzaffar told Dawn.
Asked was Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) or its chief Anwar Chowdhry aware of his illness, Muzaffar replied: “I had no contact with them. They are free to do things as they like. Nobody cares.”
Iran’s Homaoun Amerei outboxed Allah Bukhsh 24-15 in the middleweight fight but not before a gutsy show by the Pakistani.
The bout started with Allah Bukhsh of Greens offering stiff resistance as he traded punches to finish the round tied at 5-5. The Pakistani again didn’t prove an easy target in the second round as Amerei had to struggle and the round finished at 9-9.
Amerei overpowered Allah Bukhsh to lead 16-14 in the third. It was in the final round that the Iranian managed to overcome his Pakistani rival to win the fight.
The 25-5 decision in favour of Iran’s Muhdei Ghorbanei resulted in a strong protest by Egyptian Sayed Abdelhalim who refused to accept the result.
The Egyptian was upset and nodded his head in disapproval after referee raised Iranian’s hand. He finally got off the ring after being asked by his coach but kept shouting and protesting.
“It was injustice. How can my opponent earn so many points when he never landed that many punches. I don’t think referee and judges made a fair judgment by stopping the fight in the second round,” said Abdelhalim.
His coach Mohamed El Said said it was a fair decision.
Results (semifinals):
Light-welterweight: Shin Myung-Hoon (Korea) bt Mahmudov Dilshod (Uzbekistan) 27-18.
Welterweight: Yunusov Bohodbek (Uzbekistan) bt Samat Payuha (Thailand) 34-14 OC/III; Bashirov Aliasker (Turkmenistan) bt Mohammad Starpaor (Iran) 37-21.
Middleweight: Homaoun Amerei (Iran) bt Allah Bukhsh (Pakistan Greens) 24-15; Abdurahmonov Sherzod (Uzbekistan) bt Ivano Del Monti (Italy) walkover.
Light-heavyweight: Lei Yuping (China) bt Ram Singh (India) 30-7; Muhdei Ghorbanei (Iran) 25-5 OC/II.
Heavyweight: Somar Gason (Syria) bt Matchanov Jasur (Uzbekistan) 33-24; Ali Mazaharei (Iran) bt Salem Alshammary (Kuwait) 21-5 OC/II.
Super-heavyweight: Akbarov Nijat (Azberbaijan) bt Ahmed Wattar (Syria) 6-3 H/I; Rustam Saidov (Uzbekistan) bt Muzaffar Iqbal (Pakistan Greens) 30-12 RSC/OC/III.
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