Monnet Group to Sponsor Indian Boxing

Riding high on the success of Indian Boxers in the just concluded Commonwealth Games, Indian Boxing certainly is going to get a face lift.

Firstly Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd (MIEL), a part of the diversified conglomerate Monnet Group has signed a $ 1 million deal to become the team sponsor of the Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) for the next three years. The sponsorship would cover various national teams – senior men, juniors and sub juniors along with the senior women, juniors and sub juniors.

Secondly, to make the game a common man sports and a family outing, MIEL along with Percept have launched “Fight Nights”. This is India’s first ever indoor exhibition boxing bout between Indian Boxers and International Boxers. “The ‘Fight Night’ would be a mix of the entertaining sport of boxing with live entertainment combined with a premium experience for the audience already seen in the US and Europe. The bouts would be held in malls, multiplexes, discos, clubs, open grounds, college campuses, amusement and theme parks, the release added”, a media release from IBF’s marketing agent Percept said.

Welcoming the move, Olympic Bronze Medalist, Vijender Singh said, “We are extremely happy with these recent developments in boxing. We have the talent but boxing in India needs a supporter like the Monnet Group to take it forward.”

Meanwhile IBF chief Abhay Singh Chautala said “This is a sign of good work that we have been trying to do, this was just the right boost that we needed to keep working much harder into making our boxers the world beaters that they already are on their way of becoming.”

Percept, being a marketing partner of IBF will be primarily responsible to promote Indian boxing talents. It will also promote the Indian Series of Boxing which would take off after the World Series of Boxing scheduled this year. Besides, it will also play an integral part in bringing bilateral, tri-nation and other international boxing events to India.

Shailendra Singh, Joint Managing Director, Percept Ltd, added, “A large populous nation such as India cannot thrive on a single sport. ‘Fight Night’ will provide the ideal fast-paced sporting entertainment option that today’s audiences crave for. Every sport needs superstars to drive interest, popularity and engagement with the audiences, and with luminaries like Vijender Singh, Suranjoy Singh and other talented stars leading the way in this arena, boxing can only become more popular.”

This is a second major contract that an Indian sporting federation has bagged this year after Reliance-IMG signed a 30 years deal with Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in June, which could eventually lead to the formation of an Indian professional Basketball league. Surely, Indian sports are going places with the performances of the athletes in the CWG. Its hopeful that more corporate houses will come forward to sponsor Indian athletes so that Indian Sports can take a Giant Leap.