While financial status is often considered a crucial differentiating factor between amateur and professional boxers, a varying degree of self-respect is what most importantly separates the two, believes Brig PK Muralidharan Raja
Vijender Singh and Brig Raja
New Delhi: While financial status is often considered a crucial differentiating factor between amateur and professional boxers, a varying degree of self-respect is what most importantly separates the two, believes Brig PK Muralidharan Raja, a former Indian Amateur Boxing Federation secretary general and current Indian Boxing Council president.
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Vijender Singh and Brig Raja
"The financial gain for a professional boxer is huge, while there is hardly any money in amateur boxing. However, it is the bureaucratic complications at the amateur level that put off boxers.
"On the other hand, a pro boxer, makes his choice of fight, earns his choice of money, pays his coaches and off he goes. Everyone is happy," Brig Raja, one of the dignitaries for tomorrow's WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight championship fight between India's Vijender Singh and Australian Kerry Hope at Thyagaraj Sports Complex here, told mid-day yesterday.
"In India, all amateur boxers have to go first through the district and state quota system. Then, there is the politics at the national level where the boys have to fall at their coaches' and state association officials' feet to get an opportunity. And finally, even if they do win, they will, at the most, get maybe one or two international competitions.
I've been an official, and struggled, but somehow kept up to my principles, so I know. It's sad. Contrastingly, in pro boxing, the newest fighters begin with four-round contests and are paid approximately Rs 4000 per round. So, that's around Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per fight, and this is regardless of whether the boxer wins or loses.
Then, as the boxer gets more mature, the number of rounds increase and so does the money. A decent pro boxer in the IBC can earn anywhere between Rs 35,000 to R1 lakh per fight, and even these are conservative figures," explained Brig Raja, who is confident that a win for Vijender will attract more pro boxers to the ring.
"The IBC is around a year old and we already have around 150 boxers with us. Vijender is obviously in a different league, but he's a hero to many and a win for him, will open doors for more pro boxers from India. It's a huge career opportunity for our fighters."
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