With a vision to promote and develop professional boxing in India, IOS Boxing promotions on Tuesday announced the signing of 13 more boxers to their pool.
The list of newly signed boxers includes Olympian Diwakar Prasad, Commonwealth Games medallist Amandeep Singh, WBC Asia Welter Weight Champion Neeraj Goyat and MMA champion fighter (SFL) Pawan Mann. With this addition IOS pool has now risen to a total of 16 boxers including WBO Super Middleweight Champion Vijender Singh, Olympic Quarterfinalists Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar.
All the boxers will soon start their training under the guidance of foreign trainers at the IOS Boxing training facility being set up in Gurgaon.
32-year-old Diwakar Prasad, who will make his debut in pro-boxing with IOS, this year has previously qualified to compete in the Bantamweight category at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Diwakar represented India in many international events including Commonwealth Boxing Championship 2003 (Bronze), Asian Olympic Qualifiers 2003 (Bronze), Asian Games Qualifiers 2004 (Silver), SAFF Games 2004 (Bronze) and Grand Prix Boxing 2006 (Silver).
On turning pro, the Jharkhand lad said, "I believe this is a great step in my boxing career I love boxing and what better way to live my dreams than to turn towards professional. I am sure I will be able to make India proud at international level. With lot of senior boxers turning professional, I think this will attract lot of other boxers to turn pro. I am looking forward to this new beginning with IOS."
Another talented boxer signed by IOS for pro boxing is 29-year old lad from Punjab, Amandeeep Singh, who turned professional last year, has fought two bouts since then, one of them being very recent i.e. January23, 2017 in China.
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The other one was at the Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi, last year, he has delivered wins in both the bouts. He has had a great amateur career with grabbing a bronze in Commonwealth Games 2010.
He made India proud in the South Asian Games and Commonwealth Championship same year by clinching on to a gold medal in both the events. He has also won bronze medal in the Asian Championship 2007 and a silver medal in Asian Championship 2011.
Commenting on joining IOS, Singh said "I am really excited on joining IOS since they have delivered excellence in the field of professional boxing. After successful debut of Vijender Singh, I feel this is the right decision to join IOS Boxing Promotions and prove my talent in the circuit of professional boxing. A lot of people and boxing fans in our country are now following this sport and I confident of doing well at the Pro circuit".
Neeraj Goyat is another big name of big name of pro boxing in the country signed by IOS. The 26-year-old boxer from Haryana made his professional debut in 2011 against Gou Wen Dong in China.
He has fought 12 bouts with an experience of 71 rounds under his belt and claimed 8 wins, with 2 Knockouts. The Indian is currently placed 35th in the WBC list which was updated after his victory over Australian Ben Kite, who he defeated to retain his title. In 2016, he had won bronze medal in the AIBA Pro Boxing Olympic qualifier.
Neeraj shared his thoughts on signing with IOS, saying, "It is a great step for my professional career, IOS boxing promotions is dedicated to promoting boxing in the country. I am doing pro boxing from last six years but I feel that IOS is the only company who has successfully created a buzz of pro boxing in the country. I feel they will help me reach greater heights in pro-boxing."
29-year old Pawan Mann is an unbeaten MMA fighter. He has fought 5 professional fights in the Super Fight League under the Welterweight category and the Lightweight category and has been named the Champion in both the categories. Speaking on the occasion, Pawan said, "This is a great platform for me, turning a pro boxer from MMA fighter. I am really excited to start my pro training soon. I know pro boxing is really a big challenge but I am ready for it and looking forward for my debut".
The other names that have been signed by IOS Boxing promotions include-
1. Haryana boy Kuldeep Dhanda, 27, who turned professional in April last year in the light weight category made a good start in his career winning 3 out of 3 bouts. In his amateur career, he has grabbed 4 gold medals in state level championships.
2. The 21- year old Pardeep Kharera comes from a small district in Haryana. Pardeep turned pro last year in February, till date he has 3 bouts with 11 rounds under his belt. He has had a good amateur boxing record with clinching 3 gold medals in national and international level boxing championships.
3. Dharmender Grewal turned towards professional boxing in April last year and has fought and won 2 bouts since his debut, with one resulting in a Knockout win. He also holds an exciting record in the amateur boxing world with two silver and two gold medals under his belt.
4. Deepak Tanwar, 23 turned professional in the year 2015, with winning his first fight through Split decision in New Delhi. In the year 2016 he played one bout under IOS Boxing Promotions in the Vijender Singh headliner fight, winning that by a TKO against Sutriyono Bara Boys. Deepak hold a record of winning all the four professional bouts and has 17 rounds under his belt.
5. Kuldeep Singh represented India at many international platforms as an amateur boxer. Kuldeep Singh grabbed an impressive win in the professional boxing by defeating Divanshu in the heavyweight category at AIBA pro-boxing night held in Noida, in the year 2016.
6. Rajesh Kumar, 20 hails from Bhiwani in Haryana. He turned professional in 2015 and has fought 7 bouts since then. He has had 6 wins, one of them resulting in a Knockout and 1 was a draw.
7. Naveen Kumar, has had an excellent run in amateur boxing with having won Bronze in 2015, Senior National Championship, along with a Gold in the Youth World Championship in 2012.
8. Akshay Kumar, has participated and won many medals in his amateur boxing career, he has won silver medals in the international boxing tournament in Russia and Chandigarh.
9. Madan Lal, 24, has been exceptional in amateur boxing career. He has won Gold in Indian National Championships in 2012. He also won gold in the Indian Federation Cup Championships in 2009 in the Bantamweight category.