Lifting Bangladesh Boxing one round at a time

Bangladesh Boxing has emerged on the horizon of a new dawn as they hosted their first professional boxing tournament, ‘Xcel presents South Asian Pro Boxing Fight Night - The Ultimate Glory’ at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium on Thursday.

Bangladeshi boxers Krisno Churo Chakma and Mohammad Al Amin made their mark on the event by winning their respective matches and making their appearances momentous in the country’s first international professional event.

Fighting in the lightweight division, Krisno, who hails from Rangamati, came out victorious against Nepalese lightweight champion Mahendra Bahadur Chand. He managed to knock down Mahendra in the second round and clinched the fight by 40-36, 40-36, and 37-39 points.

In a dominant display, Al Amin reigned supreme against Nepalese welterweight champion Bharat Chand by 39-37, 40-36, and 40-36 points.

Bangladesh’s best achievement in boxing came in the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, South Korea, where boxer Mosharraf Hossain won the bronze medal, the country’s first medal in the Asian Games.

Despite the drought in key achievements, Krisno believes the success of the first pro-boxing event in Bangladesh will give both current and upcoming boxers a boost and more importantly, a platform to showcase their skills and development.

A very confident Krisno told the Business Post that he was elated at his first victory in front of home fans and deemed it a historic occasion.

“It was historic. This is the first pro event in Bangladesh, and I think my victory in such a successful event was historic,” Krisno said.

“We had international opponents, and the event was carried out very well by the organisers,” he added.

In a cricket-crazy nation such as Bangladesh, it is often a difficult journey to stand out by going through a cricket-oriented environment and make a name for yourself in a sport other than cricket.

Bangladeshi lightweight champion, Krisno, shared his thoughts on making a professional life out of boxing in Bangladesh.

“Most of the boxers in Bangladesh are regular job-holders and usually get a job through boxing. But the ones who want to box professionally and make a career out of it, face many challenges. We have limited facilities, and we don’t get highlighted. We have sponsorship issues, and then there are preparation limitations in terms of diet and training,” he said.

The 28-year-old took a break from boxing in Bangladesh and went to England for advanced training in 2015.

Having trained in world-class facilities there, Krisno gained the belief of going pro.

“When I saw the world-class training facilities in England and how their boxers lived, I wanted to go pro like them. When I felt that I was going toe-to-toe with them despite being from Bangladesh, I gathered immense belief. From there, you can say I had a dream planted inside my head,” Krisno said.

Krisno, who idolises Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, won two other international fights before and is unbeaten with a 3-0 record. His compatriot, Al Amin recently won gold in Bangladesh Games and carried his good form to the event.

He was elated after winning his fight and said that the introduction of pro-events would not only improve the quality of boxers, but will help in developing infrastructure as well.

Al Amin talked about his goals and ambitions as a boxer, underlining his desire to play in international events.

“I want to take it step by step. There is an international ranking, and I want to go up in that. My strong desire is to compete in belt fights, primarily in Asian Boxing Championships, and eventually, I want to be in the World Boxing Championships,” he said.

The growth of a particular sport is often correlated with results. The positive results Krisno and Al Amin achieved in an international event might work as a catalyst to propel Bangladesh boxing to a platform from which it can flourish.

With international events such as these, current boxers like Krisno and Al Amin can make their mark on the international stage, and in the process, can inspire a whole new generation to take up the sport.