STAGE SET FOR PUNCH, HOOK AND JAB TO GLORY

A FIRST Panchkula To Host WBC Championship

Panchkula: April 13, 2018: The World Boxing Council (WBC) will organise the World Youth Title and Asian Silver Title during an event named ‘Boxing Night’ at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Stadium, here on April 14. The event is organised under aegis of Professional Boxing India (PBI) and organized by Royal Sports Gala Fight Event will begin at 6pm.

Apart from the title bouts, there would be uncarded fights which will give boxers a chance to earn points and boost their international ranking. The boxers will be paid Rs 18,000 for every round – irrespective of whether they win or lose their bout.

Col Damrong, the executive secretary of WBC Asia and a WBC supervisor, said, “We have chosen the boxers who will fight, and I can assure that they will put up a show. All fights will be highly competitive and full of action. This event will widen the horizons of boxing in India.”

Jai Shekhawat, the organizer of the event, added, “This will be the most aggressive and fierce boxing contest in India and will be a game-changer for the sport in India. Besides the brilliant list of fighters that we have from outside India, we also hope to rope in some more talented local boxers.”

THE LINE-UP

The Asian Silver Title match will carry a prize money of Rs 2,50,000. The World Youth Title will also be on the line. Rajesh Kumar aka Luka, a boxer from Bhiwani, will be vying for the WBC World Youth lightweight title and will face Glenn Enterina – a Philippines-based pugilist.

Vikas Singh will take on Suthat Kalalek of Thailand in the Asian Silver cruiser weight title bout.

Ankit Thakur of Himachal Pradesh will face off with Haryana’s Vikas Khatri in the super welter weight clash. Junior world champion Sunil Siwach will compete with Chinmay Sengupta of Madhya Pradesh in the featherweight contest.

India’s Karan Singh and Canada’s Roland Jefferey will lock horns in the welter weight category, while another Indian boxer Kirti Singh, who hails from Haryana, will fight Noemi Bosques of America – a former Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) champion.

INTERNATIONAL STARS EAGER TO FIGHT IN INDIA

Veteran pugilist Noemi is eager to stamp her authority and show her skills in India. She has done a thorough research on the Indian boxers. “I have heard a lot about India’s champion woman boxer Mary Kom. I would love to take her on in a fight – considering she is in my weight category. In recent times, Indians have made quite a mark in international boxing. I am expecting a good bout,” she said. Noemi is only worried about left-handed boxers. “There are many boxers who are southpaws and that is quite difficult to handle. But I am confident of defeating everyone,” she stated.

Roland Jeffrey, the Mexican-Canadian boxer who has recorded 27 wins out of 32 fights so far, sounded the bugle and stressed that “it will be a war” when he locks horns with Karan Singh – another Haryana-based pugilist. Jefferey is a carpenter by profession and he took up boxing just two years back. His coach underlined that Jefferey’s biggest enemy is his anger. “I am confident that if Jefferey can direct his anger in the right direction, he will be unstoppable,” he said. “All this anger is pentup in him because he was bullied during his childhood.” Talking about his anger issues, Jefferey said, “By the time I was 18, I developed this anger issue and I felt that my fists were the only way to solve any problem. Didn’t matter who was in front of me.”