(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Fawad Hussain / The Peninsula
Boxing fever is soon to grip India with its first-ever Super Boxing League (SBL) to be held in New Delhi from July 7 to August 12, 2017.
The league is being organised by British businessman Bill Dosanjh, also the founder and promoter of successful Super Fight League and professional boxing sensation and two-time world champion boxer, Amir Khan.
According to information received by The Peninsula, the organisers yesterday unveiled the competing teams and schedule for India's first ever boxing league.
Khan, who missed the ceremony due to his ongoing treatment in Dubai, hoped the league would be a huge success.
'Long-term partnerships work best for both the brand and the team, where they draw from each other's vigour. SBL is going to be a big leap in the history of boxing, Khan, the SBL promoter, said in a video message.
'I am confident that it will become one of the most coveted title in boxing in the years to come, he added.
Eight teams comprising 96 pugilists will come together for twelve league level matches from July 7 to 30, 2017 followed by two semi-finals on August 5 and 6 with the grand finale set for August 12.
The eight teams of the inaugural edition of SBL include Mumbai Assassins, Delhi Gladiators, Haryana Warriors, Sher-E-Punjab, UP Terminators, North East Tigers, Maratha Yoddhas and Southern Super Kings.
'Today's event represents a huge step towards delivering our vision of creating an inspirational international level of contact sports in India, said Bill Dosanjh, Owner Promoter, SBL.
'It's a great feeling to see a concept taking shape and today we have eight teams with the best of industry partners owning them. I am thankful to all team owners for believing in our vision and joining hands in delivering something which will soon be a symbol of aspiration for many young pugilists across globe.
The eight teams participating in SBL are owned by top corporate honchos.
Aditya Munjal of Hero Cycles, Arjun Jain of White Fox and Shiva Vij an industrialist from Delhi will jointly own Delhi Gladiators, Nitin Jadhav of Gajanan Oil will own Mumbai Assassins, Jaskaran Puniyani and Navraj Jaura of the Jaura Group will own UP Terminators, Southern Super Kings will be owned by Abhinandan Balasubramaniam who is also the man behind India's first futsal league, Premier Futsal.
Ajeenkya Patil of the DY Patil Group will be owning Maratha Yoddhas, the team that comes from Pune, Amit Aggarwal of S J Granulate Solutions Pvt. Ltd. will own North East Tigers. Besides these corporate houses, SBL has a team owner who is a farmer by profession but a sport lover by passion. Karan Devgan comes on board as the owner of Haryana Warriors.
Each team at the Super Boxing League will have a squad strength of 12 boxers, including six back up boxers. A team will have a mix of five male and one female boxer and can have a maximum of three international boxers. Each action-packed weekend of SBL will see the best of 6 bouts formats across six weight categories. A bout will have 4 rounds of 3 minutes each.
SBL has roped in Sony Pictures Networks India as the broadcast partner for on-air as well as online streaming of the league. The league will be telecast live.
MENAFN0905201700630000ID1095465611
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.