Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
19 years old amateur boxer Faizan Anwar is living the dream . The teenager wants to win a medal for the countryt in 2024 Olympics.
Faizan who hails from Kolkata, has been training and fighting from the internationally renowned Round 10 Boxing Club, Dubai. He started training when he was just 8 years old as he picked the reins from his Uncle Mujtaba Kamal (Ex-Boxer and now a Professional boxing coach).
Faizan made his headway in the field of amateur boxing but the desire to win the Olympic Gold for India made him to switch to Professional boxing which is focused on high-level techniques along with intense stamina and strength training. .
He with the help of coach has adopted a specific path with the combination of his boxing and training choices. He made the switch to Professional boxing
Another major difference which led him to make this choice is how a Pro-boxing fight runs for 3 minutes with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 rounds, whereas amateur boxing is ideally for 3 minutes, but has a maximum of 4 rounds even at the highest level.
According to Faizan “This kind of training will not only keep my body well-conditioned, it will also make sure I have played a higher number of rounds than any amateur in the ring by 2024”.
That being said he has great respect for the amateurs who have gone on to build magnificent boxing careers even in the realm of professional boxing.
Faizan’s last fight was at the Rotunda Rumble IV, promoted by MTK Global in association with Round 10 Boxing. MTK Global is a boxing management company which represents the likes of Tyson Fury (a two-time heavy-weight world champion), Josh Taylor (Boxing World Champion) and Jack Catterall (a one-time light welterweight winner). Faizan has been under their belt, a feat achieved with his due share of dedication and hard work.
The Rotunda Rumble IV was held at Dubai Caesars Bluewaters on October 9, Clinching his 5th straight Pro-boxing victory with a score of (5-0-0 KO), this fight was against JR Mendoza of Philippines.
Even after playing against a very well-experienced fighter at his 30th fight, Faizan had a powerful leap right from the start. The bout was one-sided with the scores playing in Faizan’s favor with a mighty difference of 60 – 53 and a win in all 6 rounds. The match was aired on ESPN .
His first international opponent in Pro-boxing was from Thailand, followed by Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, and a final against Philippines- all of which he won.
Emerging victorious against the best in the welter weight category across Asia, Faizan now stands at the No.1 rank in Indian Pro-Boxers replacing Neeraj Goyat.
By next year, the boxer aims to play the WBC Youth, for which he has been training intensively. His training begins at 6 in the morning with 5k runs while his evening practice is dedicated to his boxing techniques. He trains twice a day which adds up to 3 times when a fight is up close.
