A scintillating display of aggressive boxing by Delhi state champion Parul Adhikari in her first-ever pro-boxing bout and a dominant win by Pushpendra Rathi in the women’s and men’s Light Weight categories respectively set the tone for a successful debut of the Global Boxing Series here on Saturday night.
Parul banked on her reach and ability to landed punches with quick left-right combination to beat Muskan Srivastava in a split-decision verdict while Rathi scored a Technical Knock Out against Jayanth Gunji in front of a packed Jade Garden Banquets that saw many celebrity influencers and boxing fans enjoy eight quality bouts.
The first-ever pro-boxing fight series being promoted by Devraj Das, Founder of Marine Pro Boxing Promotions and one of India's most famous radio jockey, host and actor Salil Acharya aims to not only provide a platform for Indian professional boxers to showcase their skills but also create a pathway for them to make a career on the international stage.
“Boxing in India is still synonyms to amateur boxing. But on the global stage pro-boxing is what attracts the highest audience and has the potential to make these boxers global superstars. The Global Boxing Series is just a first step towards creating awareness among boxers and fans about pro-boxing and the response we got for our inaugural editions has only gives us more confidence that we are on the right path,” said the promoters, who have extensive experience of working in the pro boxing space in India and globally.
In the other high-quality bouts, Maharashtra’s Malhar Bhosale scored a Technical Knock-Out (TKO) over Tensubam Meitei of Manipur in Super Welter weight, Hyderabad’s Suresh Pasham knocked out Mukesh NK in Round 3 of Welter Weight category, Tamil Nadu’s Pradish A defeated Rajkumar Wagh by TKO in Round 2 of Super Fly category and his state-mate Hashir got the better of Samuel Harijana by unanimous decision in Super Bantamweight category.
Apart from the boxing fans, celebrities like Ravi Behl, Nisha Rawal and top influencer Donal Bisht restraunter and actor simple kaul were among the stars adding a glamour quotient to the night that also witnessed an influencer marquee showdown between South African Tayne De Villiers, who belongs to a family of MMA stars, and social media sensation Ishant Rawat, popularly known as the Knucklehead Warrior.
“Pro-Boxing is a combination of both quality contest and star quotient and that is why it is so popular in Europe and America. Global Boxing Series aims to provide Indian pro-boxers the platform to compete on the world stage and become celebrities in their own right while also earning substantially from their prowess,” said Acharya.
All the eight bouts had four rounds each, which is a minimum requirement for a pro-boxing event and the organisers are confident that more Indian boxers will be prompted to take the pro route to success in the coming years.
