Being a professional in India is all set to be a lucrative career option for boxers. Indian Boxing Council, the governing body for professional boxing in India, has entered into a multi-year commercial deal with sports management company Sporty Solutionz Private Limited.
Under the agreement, Sporty Solutionz will pump in Rs. 100 crore to boost the sport. The deal is aimed at creating a vertical structure that will ensure a complete eco-system for pro boxing in India.
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India to become global hub
The investment is targeted to make India the global hub for professional boxing over the next five years. The active boxers will have opportunities to compete and earn, the retired boxers will be part of a system to create champions and the beginner talent will have incentives and scholarships to stay focused on the sport.
The investment will flow in a periodic manner at various levels. In the first phase, there will be pan-India competitions for the IBC boxers. The level of competition will be raised by inviting top international professionals, which in turn will uplift the competitive structure.
Setting up of academies
Alongside the top level competition, a considerable part of the investment will go towards setting up of IBC academies and training. Sporty Solutionz-IBC joint venture will pump in several crore rupees in their first major event – IBC fight night cards starting from January 2017.
This will be followed by a three-tier pro tour where City level Silver Glove competition will be followed by the Golden Glove championships at the State level from where the winners will qualify for national, Asian and World titles. There are lucrative contracts for top notch boxers. For the young talent, there are incentives and scholarships.
The marketing and awareness programmes are allocated around 30% of the total investment chunk. Interestingly, the commercial partners and IBC have derived a plan to make professional boxing the marketing tool as well. The drive will be launched with a pan-India talent hunt. The selected talent will be picked for training at regional IBC academies and education.
“Professional boxing is an exciting sport with commercial potential to sustain itself. Our investment is based on a pure profit-driven business model, which assures guaranteed timely returns for all stakeholders. The sport is generating tremendous interest among broadcasters and sponsors. We just need to create Tysons and Holyfields. The talent,which is the essence for any sports business, is there,” says the Sporty Solutionz Chief Executive, Mr Ashish Chadha.
“We are working on a commercial model, a structure to have competition from cadet to senior national levels. Plans to create training facilities at all levels and an initiative to train coaches and trainers for pro boxing will be announced soon,” Mr Chadha added.
Aim to establish pro boxing as the next big thing
India Boxing Council has already initiated a basic structure for professional boxing’s growth in the country. The brain behind IBC, Brigadier PK Muralidharan Raja (retd) is among the senior most boxing administrators in the country. IBC has a well-trained team of trainers, coaches, psychologists and technical conduct officials.
“The alliance with a commercial partner will drive the sport in the right direction and give the desired pace to our commercial plans,” said the IBC president, Brig. Raja. “We have been looking for a right associate for commercial and professional success. Our commercial partners have an illustrious and long track record in the business of sports. That gives us right impetus and financial backing to establish pro boxing as the next big thing in Indian sports,” he added.
