India to host first ever WBC India Championship on 1 May

New Delhi: In what is being billed as a game-changer for professional boxing in the country, the World Boxing Council (WBC) has endorsed the Indian championship fight between Chandni Mehra and Suman Kumari on 1 May in Jalandhar.

The fight for the lightweight 140lb belt is scheduled to take place as part of the LZ Promotions India Unleashed-Fight Night - the country's first-ever Professional USA boxing event, according to a release.

Chandni and Suman have been India's No 1 fighters in lightweight and featherweight categories and now will be challenging each other in this bout, aiming to become the first-ever WBC India champion across both men and women categories.

The WBC is one of the four major organisations that sanctions professional boxing bouts globally.

This is the first time ever that India will be hosting a title card sanctioned by the global body and contested by the two female fighters.

"This is a game-changer for Indian professional boxing. I believed India has huge potential equally in men's and women's professional boxing. My vision is to promote India's first-ever World Boxing Champion (male and female)," said Parm Goraya, CEO of LZ Promotions and India Unleashed Promoter.

"Pawan Goyat, Pawan Maan, Asha Roka are some of the names that have fought on major platforms so it is a major coup to have them participate. I'm really excited to initiate this historic move and hope to contribute towards creating a historic chapter for boxing and professional boxing in India.

"It's a great development for Indian professional boxing... This title card would definitely be a game-changer for professional boxers as well as boxing in India," said Muralidharan Raja, president of Indian Boxing Council (IBC) which has also been recently affiliated with the Asian wing of WBC.