While Indian boxing is quite old, the sport came into the limelight in the 20th century. It has become a prevalent sport in India in the last century, and many boxers could grasp fame with it.
Between the late 20th and 21st century, Indian boxing has seen the advent of many professionals who have gone to the international stage and found success. Let us look at the top ten Indian professional boxers:
1. Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti – Born on October 25, 1992, in Chakar village in Ludhiana, India, Sukhdeep Singhis an Indian professional in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. A Gold medalist in Sahara 59th Senior Men National Boxing Championships and Super Cup Inter-Zonal men National Boxing Championship in Mumbai, Sukhdeep Singh is undefeated in eight professional bouts, with all eight wins and three wins by knockout.
Since moving to Canada and turning professional, Sukhdeep Singh has only fought more experienced competitors and won conclusively every time.
2. Rajesh Kumar – India’s first World Boxing Council (WBC) World Youth Champion, Rajesh Kumar, is from Bhiwani, India. He used to run a tea stall before following his passion.
In 2015, Rajesh fought his first-ever professional bout when he defeated compatriot Manpreet Singh. Since then, Rajesh has fought ten bouts, winning nine, while one ended in a draw. He is still unbeaten. He is the number one Lightweight professional boxer in India and is 221st in the world (WBC) professional boxing rankings in his weight category.
Royal Sports is Rajesh Kumar’s one of the leading promoters.
3. Vijender Singh – Born October 29, 1985, Vijender Singh is an Indian professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, World Championship 2009, and the Commonwealth Games 2010. He also won silver medals at the 2006and 2014 Commonwealth Games in the middleweight division.
In June 2015, Vijender Singh turned professional and signed a multi-year agreement with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions through IOS Sports and Entertainment. On October 10, 2015, Singh fought his first professional boxing match. He defeated his opponent Sonny Whiting by Technical Knockout.
4. Lalrinsanga Tlau – Born on November 22, 1999, Lalrinsanga Tlau is a professional boxer from Khawruhlian, India. He began fighting in the year 2019 at age 20 with a boxing record of 3-0.
Lalrinsanga Tlau, also known as Sangtea, is ranked first in Super Featherweight rankings for India, according to BoxRec. He is also ranked fourth in the pound-to-pound BoxRec rankings for India.
His last fight took place at the Caesars Palace in Dubai on March 6, 2020, against Haidari Mchanjo, where he secured a unanimous decision victory. He is expected to have his next fight by the end of January in Mumbai before his WBC Youth title fight.
Mizoram Boxer Lalrinsanga Tlau is all set to fight for the WBC World Youth Title in March 2021.
5. Brijesh Meena – Born on October 19, 1991, Brijesh Kumar Meena from Rajasthan turned into a professional boxer in 2015. He won the WBC Asian Boxing Council silver super-middleweight belt and nine bouts old in the mix. He is the number 2 super-middleweight boxer in India.
The 29-year has been unbeaten in five bouts so far in the last four years, starting with his debut fight in the Philippines. The losses in the Philippines and Thailand were, by points, against local fighters.
6. Faizan Anwar – Born on May 14, 2001, Faizan Anwar, who hails from Kolkata, is a professional boxer. He has been training and fighting from the internationally renowned Round 10 Boxing Club, Dubai. He started his training at age 8 as he picked the reins from his Uncle Mujtaba Kamal, an ex-boxer and now a professional boxing coach.
Faizan’s last fight was at the Rotunda Rumble IV, promoted by MTK Global in association with Round 10 Boxing. The Rotunda Rumble IV was held at Dubai Caesars Bluewaters on October 9, where Faizan clinched his 5th straight Pro-boxing victory with a (5-0-0 KO) score against JR Mendoza of the Philippines. By next year, the boxer aims to play the WBC Youth, for which he has been training intensively.
The youngster Faizan started his pro-career in 2019 at 18 with a win in Thailand against Anucha Noithong. In 2020, he won two more times against Jun Paderna and Gideon Agbosu, which took his record to 3-0. These wins against well-established foreign opponents helped him become the top-ranked Indian Welterweight in the BoxRec Rankings.
7. Asad Asif Khan – Born October 12, 1993, Asad Asif Khan is an Indian professional boxer. He is licensed under the IBC (Indian Boxing Council), the only internationally recognized Indian Professional Boxing Commission. He has also won all the series of bouts in the Super Boxing League representing Mumbai Assassins’. In December 2019, he won IBO Oceania Title. In November 2011, Khan turned professional and signed a multi-year agreement with Indian Boxing Promoter Mujtaba Kamal.
Asad Asif Khan has been at youth Olympics camp 2009-10 and Olympics camp 2015. Khan made his debut in Professional Boxing on November 19, 2011. Since then, Khan has been trained for all of his fights by Mujtaba Kamal. Kamal has also been managing his fights as a manager right from the professional boxing debut of Khan. Khan’s career’s turning point was in 2019, when his performance in Manila showcased his intensive training. His opponent Aiman Abu Bakar (9-0-0), Malaysia’s No.1 boxer and an undefeated international player, was beaten by him. Asad completely dominated the event during all eight rounds for a one-sided win.
8. Neeraj Goyat – Born on November 11, 1991, Neeraj Goyat is a professional boxer from India. The three times WBC Asia titleholder (2015, 2016, and 2017) won the title of “India’s most promising boxer” in 2008. He became the first Indian professional fighter who won three fights of twelve rounds. Neeraj Goyat was the first Indian professional boxer who went to Venezuela for the Olympic qualifiers. He is also the first Indian fighter to have made it to WBC World Rankings. In 2017, he won the award of WBC Asia, “Honorary Boxer of the year.” Out of the sixteen Pro fights, Neeraj won eleven times with two draws and three losses.
A conversation with the Founder of The Punch Boxing Championship, Mr Arif Khan
9. Sunil Siwach – Born on March 5, 1990, Sunil Siwach is a professional boxer from India, Bhiwani, with a boxing record of five wins, one loss, and one draw. He won two matches by knocking out his opponent. He started fighting in the Featherweight division in the year 2016 at age 26. He has an orthodox boxing style. His last fight was November 23, 2019, against Jess Rhey Waminal, who has a 13-3-1 boxing record. Sunil Siwach lost the bout by unanimous decision.
10. Sachin Dekwal – Dekwal is a Lightweight fighter. He won his debut fight in the Philippines before notching his second win in Thailand. Since then, he has twice fought in India and recently stopped veteran Francis Miyeyusho. Dekwal may well see a lot of attention in 2021. Hopefully, that will lead to better training and getting a real team behind him.
Written By
Anshula Pattanayak
Leave a Reply