Boxing
Nick Parkinson 4y

Kash Farooq to advance his claim as Scotland's next big boxing star

Boxing

Kash Farooq has impressed over the past year and some are tipping him to be Scotland's next big boxing star after Josh Taylor.

But Farooq's potential and ambitions come up against a big test on Saturday when he faces compatriot Lee McGregor in a British and Commonwealth bantamweight title fight on a card to be shown live on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Both unbeaten boxers will put their titles on the line at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow, in a much-anticipated fight in what is becoming an exciting period for boxing in Scotland.

Taylor, from Edinburgh, has had an excellent 2019, after winning the IBF world junior welterweight title in Glasgow in May, and then adding the WBA belt in October after a brilliant points win over American Regis Prograis.

Farooq (13-0, 6 KOs), who was born in Pakistan and has lived in Scotland since he was 6 years old, says Taylor's success can help the careers of other Scottish boxers.

"Everyone in the gym has been buzzing about Josh Taylor's win against Prograis, and I'm hoping it will bring more of the big nights and big shows back to Scotland," Farooq told ESPN.

As well as Taylor, there has also been plenty of interest locally ahead of Farooq-McGregor.

Farooq, 23, from Glasgow, and McGregor (7-0, 6 KOs), 22, from Edinburgh, know each other well from their days as amateurs and are risking their unbeaten professional records early in their promising careers.

"We have both got the top two domestic titles in Britain, we are both young, unbeaten and from rival cities here in Scotland, so it has got a lot of people interested here," Farooq told ESPN.

"It's a big fight and people are split on what's going to happen.

"I will fight anybody and if the deal is right it will happen. Both our teams were happy with the deal and we both wanted the fight, so it happened. We both want to fight the best and he's the best in the division domestically [in the UK] apart from Paul Butler.

"I also sparred with Lee two years ago, we did about 30 rounds, and we boxed together when we were amateurs. We shared a room together when we boxed for Scotland against Wales in 2014. We got on, and there's no bad blood in this fight."

Farooq, who used to work part-time at sandwich chain Subway until 18 months ago, has been sparring England's Paul Butler, a former world champion, in preparation for his biggest fight to date.

"I think my movement and experience will be key. I've had a few more title fights than him and had more difficult fights," he added.

"I'm really hungry and I've been training really hard for a long time. I've not really had a break."

Farooq will make a fourth defence of his British title, while McGregor makes a second defence of the Commonwealth belt.

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