![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/WahidKhan2_27912.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFORMER Fijian boxer Wahid \u201cThe King\u201d Khan says boxing has always been in his blood.<\/p>\n
Now 49, the Lautoka-based businessman spent 21 years in the ring, from 1996 to 2016, recording a total of 78 fights with 56 wins, 16 losses, and 2 exhibition matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a boxing family. My father was a boxer in the 60s and 70s. My uncle, Saiyad Hassan, was a welterweight and middleweight champion of Fiji,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n
Khan was first introduced to the sport as a schoolboy in Class 2, when he and his friends would spar at home after school.<\/p>\n
His formal boxing journey began in Navosa, where training meant long hours, crossing rivers and running hills, sometimes covering up to 15 kilometres a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very hard. I had to cross the river every day to train. I\u2019d leave home at 3pm and come back after dark.\u201d<\/p>\n
His first official fight came in 1996 against Tanbi Narayan, a bout he won in just 26 seconds.<\/p>\n
From there, he built a strong career across the junior middleweight and welterweight divisions, fighting both locally and internationally.<\/p>\n
In 2000, he had one of his toughest fights against Kid Dugu in a full eight-round bout at Lawaqa Park, which he won by knockout.<\/p>\n
He fought several times in New Zealand, including a title fight against Samoan boxer Ioana Tanapula in 2004, which Wahid won via first-round KO.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat fight was for the South Pacific Light Middleweight title. Before he fought me, Tanapula fought Joey Ali and lost in the third round. I knocked him out in the first.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also recorded wins against an Iraqi opponent in New Zealand and fought a Samoan fighter in Nadi who had previously beaten Joey Ali.<\/p>\n
In total, Wahid fought in:<\/p>\n
New Zealand: six fights, three wins, three losses<\/p>\n
Australia: three fights- one draw, two losses<\/p>\n
Japan: one fight and lost<\/p>\n
Fiji: Majority of his matches, including four to five losses<\/p>\n
His career ended in 2016, but he came back for two exhibition fights after retirement, including a draw against Fijian boxer Opeti Tagi under the Blue Water Boxing Promotion in Suva.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that fight, we sat together, walked together, ate together. That\u2019s what boxing was in our time unity, respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wahid believes today\u2019s boxing culture is different.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome boxers today take it too personally. They talk too much, sometimes even using bad words or hitting the fence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not boxing. Win or lose, it\u2019s a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also raised concerns with the Boxing Commission of Fiji, calling for referee fitness checks before fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey check the boxers before the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should also check referees so they can clearly see what\u2019s happening in the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of the ring, Khan is a proud father of three and grandfather of two.<\/p>\n
He has run his business Quality Hair and Beauty in Lautoka for 23 years, starting it while still boxing.<\/p>\n
He moved to Lautoka from Navosa in 1999 to help care for his father, who was diabetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoxing didn\u2019t pay much in our time. The highest I got was $7000 for one fight. Today boxers are getting $10,000 to $25,000. That\u2019s good progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wahid says boxing shaped him into a disciplined, respectful man and though he\u2019s no longer in the ring, he remains a lifelong student of the sport.<\/p>\n
Profile<\/p>\n
Full Name: Wahid Khan<\/p>\n
Boxing Name: Wahid \u201cThe King\u201d Khan<\/p>\n
Started Boxing: 1996, age 20<\/p>\n
Retired: 2016<\/p>\n
Fights: 78 (56 Wins, 16 Losses, 4 draws, 2 Exhibition)<\/p>\n
Four international win<\/p>\n
Divisions: Junior Middleweight, Welterweight<\/p>\n
Titles: South Pacific Light Middleweight Champion<\/p>\n
Business: Owner of Quality Hair and Beauty, Lautoka (since 2002)<\/p>\n
Family: three children, two grandchildren<\/p>\n
Hometown: Originally from Navosa, now based in Lautoka<\/p>\n
Wahid \u2018The King\u2019 Khan in Lautoka. Picture: BALJEET SINGH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORMER Fijian boxer Wahid \u201cThe King\u201d Khan says boxing has always been in his blood. Now 49, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-4609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}