Ridhwan wants to stay undefeated

Ridhwan vows to KO Umbal in their IBO featherweight title fight tomorrow

Apr 19, 2018 06:00 am

The prospect of losing does not rattle Singapore's top-ranked professional boxer Muhamad Ridhwan.

Ridhwan is undefeated, boasting a perfect record of nine wins.

While some may crumble under the pressure of maintaining the unblemished run, that is not the case for the Singaporean.

Ahead of tomorrow's Roar of Singapore IV clash with Filipino Jeson Umbal at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, it was not hard to tell why the three-time South-east Asia Games bronze medallist was not afraid of losing.

The 30-year-old, who exuded the confidence and composure of a champion at the pre-fight conference at Marina Bay Sands yesterday, said: "I'm not afraid of losing, not afraid of that zero being affected.

"I'm more motivated to stay undefeated."

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He vowed to knock his opponent out in the fourth or fifth round of their fight, which will see the winner being crowned the International Boxing Organization (IBO) featherweight champion.

But the orthodox boxer will have to deal with the powerful punches of southpaw Umbal to do just that.

Umbal, 23, who has a record of 16 wins, five draws and one loss, is unfazed by his opponent's record and words, saying: "It's just a record, I just want to beat Ridhwan in the ring. Ridhwan is a good fighter, but I'm better."

In last October's Roar of Singapore III event, Ridhwan claimed the IBO International super featherweight title after beating Namibian Nataneal Sebastian in 12 rounds.

He believes he has had ample preparation for the upcoming bout.

Like last year, he engaged a sparring partner who fights with a similar stance as Umbal from Cebu in the Philippines.

He said: "Confidence comes with preparation. We are prepared for this. We didn't cut any corners, we just want to make sure that we are 100 per cent ready.

"On the fight night, we will find out what we can do but there's more to boxing than that. You can hit someone hard, but what matters is whether you can land it or not."

"I think my sparring partner is a lot stronger than my opponent on Friday, so I think we're more than ready."

Ridhwan was quick to brush aside the label of him being "Singapore's Manny Pacquiao", saying: "I think it's a great honour but I never really thought about it.

"I just focus on creating my own legacy, creating my own success stories, and hopefully if what I do inspires people to do what I do or eventually be better, it'll be amazing."

Also fighting at the Roar of Singapore IV are Michael Dasmarinas and Karim Guerfi - who will duel for the IBO world bantamweight title - and Malaysia's Meeraj Khan and New Zealand's Chase Haley.