KARACHI – British-Pakistan boxer Amir Khan has announced to launch a boxing league in Pakistan, in a bid to promote boxing in the South Asian country and provide exposure to local talent.
Amir revealed that “Super Boxing League-Pakistan” will be held in December with franchised-based teams participating in the league.
“There will be eight teams and each team will comprise eight boxers,” Amir told the media Monday.
The teams include Multan Thunders, Faisalabad Falcons, Islamabad Kings, Peshawar Warriors, Lahore Giants, Quetta Stars, Sialkot United and Karachi Devils.
Amir, who held a similar event in India, is hopeful that the event will prove to be beneficial for country’s boxers. “The league in India was big, big hit, we had so many celebrities [who participated in the event] there,” he said.
“In Pakistan, each team will have a celebrity face from any field singing, acting or [others]. This has never been done before. We tried this in India and it was very successful, this is my own company and I have brought this to Pakistan,” he added.
Amir also said that he will not bring international boxers in the first edition as he is aiming to promote Pakistan’s local talent.
“I don’t want it to be an international event, it is going to be mainly for Pakistani boxers as we want to promote local talent,” he said.
“I am really looking forward to showing the world the talent we have in Pakistan. This is going to be great for [the future of] boxing in Pakistan. This is a chance for young people to win WBC belt,” Amir added.
“The first event may be held in Islamabad at my academy or may be in Lahore or Karachi that we need to confirm,” he said when asked about the venue.
The title of this championship will be owned by World Boxing Council and the league will provide Pakistani boxers to win a WBC belt.
“I want to do this for Pakistan. Only Pakistani boxers are going to be involved in this Championship. So we are going to localise it to see the local talent,” he said.
