Pakistan Professional Boxing League committee likely to meet this week

KARACHI: Pakistan Professional Boxing League (PPBL) management committee is expected to meet later this week to deliberate on various aspects to pave the way for launching the first edition of the league some time next year.

“To be honest, the league is not possible this year but we definitely plan to hold a meeting this week to discus how we could go for holding the event next year in February or March,” a senior official of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) told ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

“Financial aspect is really something to be worried about but we will discuss what we can do to get some pros in the event. If we are able to go for even a small-level event, it will be good for the future of the game,” the official said.

The meeting will be chaired by the PBF president Khalid Mahmood.

Last year PBF and PPBL had joined hands to hold the professional league under AIBA rules and regulations.

Meanwhile, another PBF senior official told this correspondent that the federation is passing through a financial crisis and is looking forward to creating some ways to generate funds.

“You know our game is suffering. The state has not given us a single penny during the last two years. To revive boxing we need massive financial support from the state,” the official said.

“You know it is not easy to get sponsors for a game which needs to be revived. We will try to create some ways to back our top boxers and train them for international events. You know we are to field some boxers in the world qualifiers for Olympics next year in Paris. The coach wants us to start the camp now but it is not possible in the current situation,” the official said.