In the past year, Desert Force managed to graduate four title holders. The first being Abdelkareem Al Selwady (Featherweight Champion), followed by Haidar Rasheed (Lightweight Champion), and Anis Al Hajajjy (Welterweight Champion). Year 2013 also featured the crowning of Hashem Arkhaga and Mohammad Karaki as Light heavyweight champions, respectively. An this came out to be a truly phenomenal year, raising the bar skyroof and consisting of perfect match-ups that laid the foundation of every division.
The commencement of 2014 was marked by an Interim title bout at the Desert Force ‘Al Academiya’ Finale. January 27 was the date when the match between Agha and Fakhreddine were set after the current champ was unable to defend his title. The spotlight was then on Selwady who had to defend his title against Hussein Salem, after which Julaidan, the original challenger, had got injured. Desert Force 12 should have had witnessed two title fights (Welterweight and Lightweight titles), yet another issue coming about, which caused Al Hajjajy to be ineligible to leave the United States due to conflicting visa issues.
The elongated introduction brings us to the main question behind this article! Where Is the Light heavyweight Champ Mohammad Karaki? Talk about an unpromoted champion, Desert Force’s own Mohammad Karaki has not yet fought for almost a year. After having defeated Feras Saadeh at the “Grand Prix Finals” on MBC Action (the 15th of June), the only time we actually did see the Champ was when he was a corner-man for his teammates.
After the cancellation of the Beirut event which was supposed to be held in May, it seemed like the closest date set by Desert Force after April’s event was in September. By that time, Karaki would have been out of the cage for almost 450 days! This is surely unhealthy for the fighter and his promotion. What could be the reason for such a delay? There’s already a shortage of fighters in the Light Heavyweight division, but more importantly, a lack of competent fighters fully deserving a title shot. In my opinion, only Sami Antar, or Mohammad Ali Felix could be possible title challengers, for they both have a decent record and have competed in high level promotions. However, the problem is that Felix does not fight under Desert Force promotions and Antar has been out for a while because of an injury. So who could be the next in line to challenge the champ? Nothing has been mentioned concerning this fight as if the champ is non-existent! Given the training Karaki has been undergoing as well as his refined striking skills, he must be ready and willing to face anyone in my opinion. Do not be too surprised to see him going at it, neck and neck, with the toughest strikers in the division.
You are talking about Karaki and forgot Arkhagha who hadn’t fought in DFC since 2012 !!!!
Why doesny karaki try to maybe drop his weight and unify two titles? He can also be proactive about it
We will see him after 2 events. There are 2 fights in Amman card for the light heavy weight. The winners fight each other and the fighter who wins both fights gets the chance to fight Karaki. As for why haven’t we seen him, it is due for Desert Force shitty management