Haider started boxing at an early age, having decided to become a boxer after watching fellow countryman Hussain Shah win a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Haider won a bronze medal at the 24th Kings Cup boxing tournament in Bangkok being defeated by Thailand's Suttisak Samaksaman 7-3 in the semi-finals.

[3] In 2002, Haider Ali defeated Thailand's Suttisak Samaksaman in the finals to win the gold medal in the Asian Championships which were held in Malaysia.

[4] Following his victory in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Haider received the Order of Merit from the government of Pakistan along with gifts such as a Jeep, house as well as a golden Kalashnikov rifle.

After undergoing surgery, Haider made his professional debut defeating Buster Dennis via points at York Hall on the undercard of Merdud Takaloo's WBU light-middleweight title defence against Jose Rosa Gomez.