Reviving the ring: Bengaluru’s boxing renaissance after 80 years

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

An attempt to bring boxing back to Bengaluru after an 80-year hiatus may have legends like Gunboat Jack, Youngboat Tarley and Arthur Suares metaphorically stirring in their graves. Once deemed a dangerous sport after a boy tragically died during a bout, boxing is finally reclaiming the limelight in the city thanks to a sustained push to promote it.

Professional boxing appears to have returned to Bengaluru a city where cricket, particularly through the IPL, has captured countless hearts. However, even in the early days, many saw the potential of boxing in a country like India. Narayan Raju, a former BCCI and KSCA curator, owns Majesttine Sport Arena, an indoor sports facility where Bengaluru’s first boxing academy is run by Mujtaba Kamal, an amateur boxer. “The opportunities in Bengaluru are tremendous. I’ve looked through its history, and that gives us immense encouragement,” said the founder of Grassroot Boxing. A report from 2011 vividly depicted Bengaluru as a boxing hub amidst lives lost during World War II. Historic venues like the Opera House on Brigade Road, the grounds opposite the BRV canteen on Cubbon Road and the Manekshaw Parade grounds once hosted famous matches, putting Bengaluru on the boxing map. “It is doubtful if in any other city in India boxing is kept up to such a high pitch as in Bengaluru. It looks as though the art of self-defence is about the biggest sporting draw in the station,” noted a newspaper report from September 1943. However, boxing faced its biggest setback after the era of stars like Jack and Tarley.

In an inter-school game, a boy’s death led institutions such as Bishop Cotton’s, Baldwin’s, and Bangalore Military School, once breeding grounds for boxing talent, to halt tournaments. Despite this, Kamal is optimistic about a revival, saying enthusiasm for the sport is on the rise. “We’re expecting around a thousand people to show up near the ring, and about 20,000 are expected to tune in via pay-per-view,” he said, adding that around 80 people have aleady registered for professional boxing coaching.