Ukashir Farooq (born 3 January 1996
) is a Pakistani-Scottish former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
who competed from 2015 to 2021. He held the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class ...
title from 2018 to 2019 and challenged once for the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
bantamweight title in 2019.
Early life
Ukashir Farooq, known by friends and family as "Kash", was born on 3 January 1996 in
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, Pakistan. One of three brothers, he and his family immigrated to England and applied for asylum in 2002, initially living in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
before being relocated to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland. He first entered a boxing gym in 2010 after being invited by a friend. In an interview with
The Herald, Farooq recalled: "I wasn’t interested in boxing at the start" and "...the trainer saw me hitting a few bags and asked me to come back. I came back and did some sparring and it just continued from there. Now I love boxing."
Professional career
Farooq made his professional debut on 25 October 2015, winning a four round
points decision
A points decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking. Unlike normal decisions where there are three judges who agree on which ...
over
Craig Derbyshire at the Radisson Blu Hotel in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
.
After winning his first seven fights, he challenged Scott Allan for the
Scottish Area bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class ...
title on 23 November 2017 at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Farooq won via eighth-round
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
(TKO).
On 27 September 2018, he faced Jamie Wilson at the St. Andrew’s Sporting Club in Glasgow. Farooq scored a TKO victory 73 seconds into the first round to capture the vacant
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
bantamweight title, becoming the first Scottish boxer in 21 years to do so.
The first defence of his British title came on 30 November 2018, against Iain Butcher at the
Emirates Arena
The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badmint ...
, Glasgow. Farooq retained his title with a
unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
over twelve rounds.
He defended his title for the second time on 25 April 2019, against undefeated Kyle Williams at the Radisson Blu Hotel, winning via fifth-round TKO.
On 17 August 2019, Farooq beat Duane Winters by first-round
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
(KO) at the Radisson Blu Hotel to retained his British bantamweight title.
On 16 November 2019, he challenged
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
bantamweight champion
Lee McGregor
Lee McGregor (born 24 December 1996) is a Scottish professional boxer. He has challenged once for the IBO super-bantamweight title in 2023. At regional level, he held the European, British, and Commonwealth bantamweight titles between 2018 and ...
at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow. Farooq lost a highly disputed and controversial
split decision
A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor.
A split de ...
in which many felt Farooq should have been the clear victor.
In January 2022, in a statement released via St. Andrew's Sporting Club, Farooq announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 26. Citing "unforeseen circumstances", the statement thanked the British Boxing Board of Control, saying it's procedures kept the "health and safety of the boxers paramount at all times". It was also revealed that Farooq will be taking the role of "Head of Talent" for the St. Andrew's Sporting Club.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
Asian-Scots
Scottish Asian (Asian-Scottish or Asian-Scots) is a term defined within the 2011 Scottish census as including people of Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani or other Asian ancestry resident in Scotland. Their parents or grandparents are norm ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farooq, Kash
Living people
1996 births
Scottish male boxers
Bantamweight boxers
British Boxing Board of Control champions
Boxers from Glasgow
Sportspeople from Gujranwala
Pakistani emigrants to Scotland
Pakistani male boxers
21st-century Scottish sportsmen
21st-century Pakistani sportsmen