DawnNews Exclusive

Boxing champ Amir Khan is in Pakistan to organise the country's first ever international boxing event in Karachi featuring European boxers.

Khan, who became Britain's youngest boxing medalist at the age of 17, has vowed to promote the game in Pakistan. Two days after the event, Amir will inaugurate his boxing academy in Islamabad.

"I want to promote the sport in Pakistan and on June 4, I am opening my academy in Islamabad," he said.

"I want to expand academies across the country. There is a lot of talent in Lyari, Karachi. I want promote boxing in those areas. I want to build gymnasiums in different areas of Karachi."


"We could produce so many world champions from Pakistan"


The receipts from the boxing event will be used to build water wells in Thar. "The money we raise from the June 2 event I am going to spend it building water wells in Thar. We need clean and healthy water for the people there," the 29-year-old said.

Amir, who visited Lyari last year, praised the young boxing talent of the neighbourhood that is usually struck by chaos and anarchy. "There is amazing talent in Lyari. I cannot believe it," said the orthodox-styled boxer.

"We could produce so many world champions from Pakistan not just from Lyari. There are boxers there who have good technique, good fitness, all they need is gymnasiums and someone to support them and I am here to do that... Within the next couple of years you will see a big change."

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...