Imran Azam

Thirty-year-old , Ijaz Ahmed has fought for the British title on four separate occasions, incredibly drawing three of them. Known as “Jazzy” to family and friends, his first shot at the super-flyweight championship came against Quaise Khademi in August 2021, which ended in a draw, as did their rematch ten months later. His third title bout was with Liverpool’s Marcel Braithwaite earlier this year. The exhilarating contest went the full 12 rounds with the judges unable to separate the pair. However in the return, which took place two months ago, the Birmingham-based fighter was stopped in the ninth round. In an emotional interview Ahmed revealed that he is considering hanging up his gloves. He said: “Speak to the neutrals or boxing journalists and they’ll tell you I beat Quaise, twice! I was the one that was leading with the heavier, hurtful punches. His face was all marked up. I don’t know what fight the judges were watching? “Against Braithwaite, the first time, I was the busier of the two, picking him off but once again that was another draw. In the second fight I felt the referee didn’t do his job. He [Braithwaite] was hitting me in the back of the head. The referee should’ve picked up on that.” He added: “It’s upsetting, no doubt. You put your body through hell in training. You’re away from your family. You make so many sacrifices and for what? People see the big fights and all they see is the glitz and glamour but they don’t understand the politics of the sport. It’s disheartening. It takes a toll on you and not just physically. “I’m a humble guy. I keep myself to myself. I don’t do trash talking or call people out on social media. Come the New Year as a team we will decide the next step. But you know Allah is the best of planners and this could be his way of telling me, that this isn’t for me.” Ahmed’s promoters Black Country Boxing (BCB) believe that he could potentially fight for the British title for the fifth time! Errol Johson Head of Boxing at BCB said: “Of course he’s feeling down and that’s understandable. Once he’s got a win under his belt he will be in contention for the title again. If that’s a path he doesn’t want to revisit, then we will look at another route. “Ijaz is a smashing lad. He puts the work in and deserves a bit of luck.”

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