The Indian Boxing Council has announced four Pro Boxing Fight Nights across the country, to be held from January to March 2017, to kickstart the pro-boxing calendar in the country with a prize purse of $1 million.
The pro-boxing season will begin with the IBC-3 fight card in Guwahati on January 14 with leading Indian boxers taking on challengers from Thailand.
IBC-4 is scheduled for January 28 in Hyderabad, followed by Kolkata on February 15. The fourth and fifth fight nights will feature boxers from Korea and China respectively.
The season will culminate with the title bout in Chennai on March 11, where National titles in six weight categories for men and three for women will be decided.
The champions will qualify for the Asian Title Challenge. While the marquee bouts on the 3-5 nights will be of eight rounds, others will be of six rounds.
“We have already signed some big names in Indian boxing who have decided to switch to a professional career. Amateur boxing has its own space, but all big names have earned stardom only after turning pro.
“We are also in the final stages of talks with several others and announcements are likely soon,” IBC president Brigadier P.K. Muralidharan Raja said.
The IBC has been licensed by the World Boxing Organisation, World Boxing Association and the Commonwealth Boxing Council to sanction, run, govern, train, regulate, structure and conduct professional boxing in India.
