The 31-year old boxer Mohammed Alamin, who impressed in his victory against Nepalese boxer Bharat Chand in the event - Xcel presents South Asian Pro Boxing Fight Night - The Ultimate Glory, came under the limelight recently with his performance. In an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune, he talked about a number of topics, including how he found interest in boxing and his dream about boxing in Bangladesh, among other things. Here are the excerpts:
How did you start becoming interested in boxing?
Boxing is quite popular here in Rajshahi. There are a few clubs like Modern Boxing Club. I am a student of Modern Boxing Club. Every year we have competitions at district level among clubs in Rajshahi. When I was young, like in class three or four, one of my neighbors inspired me to witness a boxing match. When I went to see that boxing match I had seen young boys like me playing boxing. Thus I found interest. Later I took part in a 21-day long training camp for Modern Boxing Club. There I performed well and the coach Shofiul Azam Masud advised me to continue boxing.
Who were your boxing idols growing up?
I follow quite a few boxers who are playing at amateur or in pro level. Like Floyd Mayweather (USA) and Vasiliy Lomachenko (Ukraine). Particularly I follow Lomachenko’s game and training videos. I also went for eight-nine month training program under a Ukrainian coach. It was held under the national team at the army stadium before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games back in 2014.
A pro boxing event was held in Bangladesh for the first time last week. How was the event?
This is the first time such an event has been organized in Bangladesh. Every boxer has a dream to convert their career as a pro from amateur level. As a boxer we always had a dream to take part in a professional tournament in Bangladesh. That dream has been completed through this event. Credit goes to Xcel and Adnan Haroon, chairman, Bangladesh Boxing Foundation. This event will inspire a whole lot of young people to take boxing as their career. Hopefully sponsors and organizers will focus on these kinds of events in near future so that more good boxers can be found and it can become a popular sport just like cricket and football. These kind of international pro boxing events are very important for the future to produce more boxers from Bangladesh. With proper facilities and opportunities through arranging these kind of professional events, hopefully Bangladeshi boxers will one day compete for Asian title or even in WBC (World Boxing Council) title.
How are facilities for boxing in Bangladesh?
Now we are doing practice in the boxing federation most of the time. There are quite good facilities there. But we need more equipment for the betterment to be honest. If we consider a tournament just within the country, then the facilities are okay. But if we want to compete internationally then we need more facilities. The federation is trying to improve facilities and hopefully more facilities will be provided.
Do you have any advice for the beginners who want to take up this sport?
Fitness and condition training and weight training are very important. Then you can focus on training related to boxing. Physical fitness is always very important for any kind of athlete. And in boxing it has more significance. So fitness training first then you should focus on boxing related training.