BOXING IS THE ART OF FIGHTING WITH FISTS
AKBER KHAN, THE CHAMPIAN BOXER AND BOXING COACH
Akber Khan, he is one them who devoted their life for their aims and passion he is a excellent boxer champion of Sindh District, Division and national level. His first participation from UOS in Punjab championship 1980 and he got first position he remained champion continuously 3 years, 1080,1981 and 1982,he got the gold medal in light fly weight category in 1981 and also secured 2nd position in 6-mile long cross country race, he started coaching in 1996 since now, he is also the boxing refry and judge, he is running his own boxing club and has been trained many boxers till now his mission to promote and to develop boxing game on national and international level he has been served his 30 years of his life for boxing and remains attached with boxing field.
Q1: Why you choose to be a boxer?
A: Actually my father was a wrestler in India so my aim was also to become a wrestler but here in Pakistan wrestling was no familiar on that time so I had to join boxing because both are game of power.
Q2: How do you interested in a boxing?
A: I had been decided to become a boxer and I very much inspired by M.Ali Clay, so I joined “Khan Boxing Club” in 1978, and Ustad Molvi Bux (Muld) was my coach and he trained me and polish my boxing skills he was a great coach.
Q3: Sir firstly tell me, what is boxing actually? Is it just a game of power?
A: Power with out techniques has no meaning in boxing. Boxing is “the art or practice of fighting with fists". the boxing is the art of a tack and defense with the fists in which the contestants wear padded gloves, the true nature of boxing is patience, braveness are the good part of the boxing game.
Q4: What basic qualities a boxer should have?
A: The main and important quality a boxer should have that is the braveness and be attentive and present minded because it is a game of techniques. If boxer has power but he is not brave so he is useless in boxing. Mick tisane is a great player in boxing because he is not too healthy but he is brave and active. Boxer should know how to defeat to other and what technique should use in game.
Q5: Is it a natural God gifted quality?
A: Yes, it is natural God gifted quality same like that everyone can not write literature, everyone cant not be an artist, singer, performer and minister so these qualities are gifted and everyone has different.
Q6: At what minimum age should a train a person for boxing?
A: Minimum age should a person under 14 to 16 years old and this is the amateur boxing class, another of cadet boy junior, youth and open, open class started by 19 years, but amateur boxing class is nursery of boxing training.
Q7: How many classes or stages or categories of boxing?
A: There are basically 11 categories of boxing training:
1: Light fly weight 48 kg
2: Fly 51 kg
3: Bantam 58 kg
4: Father weight 57kg
5: Light weight 60kg
6: Light Walter 64kg
7: Walter 69kg
8: Middle weight 75kg
9: Light heavy 81 kg
10: Heavy 9 1kg
11: Super heavy 91 above.
Q8: What is an upper age limit one can fight well?
A: 28 to 30 years old boxer is supper fighter , because he has every thing in his self that is related with good boxing, he has well trained, full of potential, energetic and know all techniques of boxing that is helpful in good and effective fight and success of boxer.
Q9: Can you make somebody a boxer without basic qualities or talent just due to good training and coaching?
A: No, this is impossible even a good coach can not make a boxer without basic qualities, if someone has no skills how do you develop in himself, boxing is a art of power and i believe that " people are born artist, not made" coach just can polish somebody skills and develop boxing qualities but can not create. oppressinaly we cant make a boxer.
Q10: What a coach must know?
A: Coach is not only a coach he is a friend of trainee, he should know well about all aspects of life, should set routine of trainee, diet, exercises and teach defense techniques, who had played boxing, know about all these feelings that appeared after fight so he can teach to trainee that how to overcome it. Coach should be a player of boxing it is very important if he is not a boxer how he can train to somebody for boxing.
Q11: Should a coach be an Olympian of national and international level?
A: Definitely yes coach should be an Olympian because he had played boxing and participate in different tournaments and know all about boxing. he knows what situation have to face after fight, how to relax a boxer, which type of diet should give him, how and when to give rest to a boxer because if boxer knockout in first round so he needs 3 weeks rest, if boxer second time do it he needs 6 weeks rest, because second time he needs more rest due to mentally pressure and injuries. Here one thing is important that if fighter be knockout in his first fight he lost his spirit.
Q12: A champion may not be always a good coach, do you agree?
A: Coaching is also a art and God gifted quality, A good player never a good coach but situation not remain same.
Q13: What should a coach possess, mentally and physically?
Q14: How to be became a good boxer and international level?
A: Amateur boxing is a nursery of boxing and a person made a good boxer of any level from here, firstly we need a good academies of boxing with all facilities, a person who indented and passionate for boxing is necessary and also a boxer must be educated, a educated boxer can play well for e.g. you give hammer to uneducated person and one is give to educated person then to observe that how will they use it, uneducated use it his own manners but educated use it technically because he knows how to hit with hammer, same like here boxing is technically game if boxer is educated he can easily understand all the techniques of fight, he knows limits of fight, speed and how to punch and use them bravely. We have to work hard for international level its not a easy task but we have a lot of talent in both a coach and boxer, just need of moral and financial supports of Govt and boxing federation.
Q15: Why you choose to be a boxing coach?
A: Professionally I am a boxer and I keen interested and this is my mission to promote boxing nationally and internationally that’s why I choose coaching.
Q16: since how long you are coaching?
A: Almost I am coaching since 14 years.
Q17: How many people or boxer you have trained so far?
A: So many people I have trained till now I don’t remember the exact number of people, majority of youngster just only joins boxing club for fitness not for professionally.
Q: Please tell me details about your boxing club?
A: I am running my “Jamia Arabia Boxing club” al alone it is free of cost no any joining fees of club because my mission to develop and to promote boxing not get money its my passion not business, I have only one boxing kit and I started and took charge of this club after the death of Fida Hussain he was the founder of this club.
Q18: What are the reasons non professionally joining of boxing clubs?
A: Boxing training is very tough and difficult and I think youngsters scared to hard training and secondly here in no bright future of boxer, so people joins boxing just for fitness, fun and some are joins for revenge, because they had been beaten by someone and want to take revenge majority of boys joins for this reason.
Q19: Which type of training and exercise is being imparted?
A: Running, jumping, its is very important boxing is standing game on foot so as much your foot work is good as you can fight easily and boxer beats less and hit more foot work is very important boxer does relax with jumping in ring, other than push up it is make power and other fitness exercise we perform to boxer.
Q20: What are the techniques of boxing?
A: Attack, straight left ,left hook to head, right hook to body, right swing, short swing, upper cut, in- flying, cover for in-fighting, defiance, swaying from a straight left, snap back, ducking, slipping, counter hitting, side stepping, inside parry, cross guard, the break, down, the count, boxer stand back, unfair tactics, lying- on, shoundring, covering up, dominating the ring, feinting, the southpaw, and foot work
Q21: Which type of diet you do suggest for boxer?
A: Gaseous food is harmful for boxer so we avoid it, high caloric diet like milk, eggs, glucose minerals and high nutrients and hygienic diet is good for boxer.
Q22: What do you say about use of drug medicines for boxer and when this trend started in Pakistan?
A: Many international boxer are using drug medicines but they know how and when use it, its important for boxer that if any boxer is using drug so he must leave drug before 3 months of tournaments because if drug diagnose in his blood test so international boxing federation can bane him and to fix plenty on this boxer, drug use is illegal in boxing. In Pakistan nobodies know about drug in past, coaches were used turmeric milk remedy for pain and relief but unfortunately when international coaches came here they spoiled our boxing and spread the trend of drug. Meher ullah boxer had also used drug in his period, interestingly Pakistani boxers don’t know what medicines are coach using for pain and injuries, boxer inform to coach that he has pain in body so what he should he do and coach simply give him some tablets, these tablets are dugs but boxer don’t know because majority of boxer is illiterate boxer eat tablets and get relief from pain when next time he feel pain coach give again that tablets so slowly and gradually boxer used to drug and take it easy because here is no restrictions of blood test in domestic level. International boxer does care and fully trained about drug use.
Q23: How many clubs are working in Hyderabad?
A: 18 Clubs are working in Hyderabad but 4 to 5 clubs are in running and performing well in boxing very sadly one boxing club can not make one boxer.
Q23: what is the reason behind this?
A: Main reason is that lack of resources, budget and moral supports. At least 4 to 5 boxing kit bags should be provided in each club but here in only one bag in club one trainee is practicing and other is to be waiting for kit how we can produce extra talent in large quantity, these bags consists of punching pads, punching globs and punching ball made by lather and quality products are very expensive like Top ten and Green hill companies products are too much expensive. Boxing academies can’t afford these boxing kit bags.
Q24: Tell me about injuries of boxing?
A: Burst of eye brows , lower eye skin, hit on chin, bleed from nose, jaws bone breakage and lips can break up If boxer don’t use gum shield, head injuries are also common in boxing so we use head guard for head protection.
Q25: Do you foresee the potential in Pakistani boxer to become international player?
Or
Q25: Is there any body, which has the potential for national or international level? If yes who?
A26: Here is so many youngsters who have talent and potential also such as Azgher Ali Shah, Mubeen Shah, Jan Muhammad Baloch, Malang Baloch, Meher UL llahA and so on, they all are to deserve to become champion on internationally level, and now I am seeing one boxer in Hyderabad Rao Abdul Kareem, He is my student and doing job in army and he has been won many tournaments in Army from his unit I am surely say about him that if he consistently doing boxing in same manner he can perform on internationally and participate in Olympic.
Q27: If we have talented coach in our country so why we call to foreigners coach?
A: Simply I would to say that “a prophet is not valued in his own country” .our federation can heavy pay to foreigners coach but cant promote national coach.
Q28: What is a future of boxing in Pakistan?
A: We have more talent in Pakistan specially in Lyari and Hyderabad, Sindh and boxers of Queta are also performing well our many boxer have been won medals such as Muzafer Iqbal got medal in supper heavy weight and Meher Ullah is Asian gold medalist and Gen. Musharaf gave him 50,000 rupees in prize, so future is bright just need of Govt supports, Govt and sponsors are support to cricket very much but they avoid boxing that’s why we are getting down, if they support us like cricket so boxing can also increase its standard and get success in Olympic and international tournaments.
Q29: What financial benefits one can get in this profession?
A: We don’t have Govt supports that’s why financial benefits are very less in boxing, more than boxer gets job in any Govt institutions and some others private institutions hire them and Army appoint on contract basis like 44FF, 25 Sindh, if its not happen here so I think boxing may die because if boxer nothing get enough money how they can survive in society how can fulfill their family needs.
Q30: How do you see this profession worldwide?
A: Boxing is so many popular and beneficial game on international level. And has many importances in worldwide.
Q31: Has any body in your children or family joined this profession?
A: Yes, my 4 children are playing amateur and cadet boxing but two of them one is Azher (13 years old) and second is Ajmal (11 years old) are very enthusiastic and I am seining potential in them for boxing, I can predict that they can make boxer of international level but supports of federation will be needed so that they can represent to Pakistan on international level.
Q32: what are your suggestions for boxing?
A: We have talent only don’t have supports of Govt and federation, Prof. Anwar Chd was the president of World Boxing Federation it he wanted he could do more for Pakistani boxing but he never did do any thing in his period Pakistani boxers just participated in events but never did perform well because we don’t have facilities we don’t have internationally standard ring our boxers have lose their confidence, so my suggestion is that boxing federation provide us all facilities, clubs , handsome budget, moral supports. Now Dudha khan Bhutto is president of boxing federation of Pakistan let see what he do for Pakistani boxing.
