Afghan boxer to launch first ever professional competition in Kabul

Kabul - World Boxing Union (WBU) champion Hamidullah Rahimi will compete with his African challenger on Tuesday in the first professional boxing event ever in the war-torn country of Afghanistan.

Rahimi would take on Rafael Bejaran from the Republic of Dominica in a bout in Kabul, reports Xinhua.

Rahimi won the WBU championship by defeating his Belarusian rival in Hamburg, Germany in February this year.

Rahimi, 29, who has lived in Germany for the past 20 years, has been boxing for a decade and a half. An Afghan by origin, the pugilist has won 20 of the 21 bouts he has fought so far.

“An athlete hoists his country’s flag after a competition without any bloodshed. The upcoming duel will send a strong message of peace to the world. Therefore, I call it a fight for peace,” Rahimi said.

“I requested the competition be held in Kabul because I want to change the landscape of athletics in Afghanistan. I also want the world to know that Afghanistan has the best athletes,” the Afghan sportsman added.