Mohammad Waseem's title fight in doldrums after UAE visa rejection

Pakistani boxer Mohammad Waseem's title fight is in the doldrums as his visa for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been rejected ahead of the bout scheduled on July 22.

Star boxer and three-time WBC flyweight world silver champion Waseem will face four-time world champion Donnie Nietes of the Philippines.

The boxer's manager has told GeoSuper.tv that Waseem's Dubai visa has been rejected after an error was found in his application.

"An Indian guy in his team made a mistake while filling out his application due to which Dubai authorities rejected his visa," he said.

"He applied for the visa again and now waiting for it. If the visa isn't issued within the next 12-13 hours, his fight will be postponed till late July or early August," he added.

Currently, Waseem is in Scotland where he trained for the much-awaited fight.

The bout is backed by Dubai-based Disrupt Promotions, who roped in Waseem recently.

Earlier, in an interview with The News in April, Waseem said that he was looking forward to the fight against Nietes.

“Donnie is a four-time world champion in four different divisions and currently he is in the top four in the WBC flyweight rankings,” Waseem said.

“If arranged, it will be a tough fight as he is a top-ranked fighter but beating him will help me acquire top rankings.

“You know I have not played a fight since my world title shot a year ago in Dubai. The bad luck was that my former manager MTK Global ceased operations and this year Probellum also ceased its operations and handed over most of its assets to Disrupt Promotions.

“The issues wasted my crucial time and it also deprived me of top rankings due to the barren patch. Now I will have to play a few ranking fights in order to improve my rankings before going for a title clash.

“Despite such matters, my aim is to win the world title one day. I will not give up and will continue working hard to achieve my goal one day.”