Delhi dhishum

The city corporates can soon pack a punch with the desi version of fight club as Evander Holyfield will shortly launch a chain of his namesake gyms and fitness centres in the country.

Delhi will soon have its first boxing club and the man who is starting this is none other than Evander Holyfield — the former World Undisputed Champion boxer, better known as The Real Deal. “We want people to get involved and cheer on their guys. It is about having fun while you are getting fit,” Holyfield said in an exclusive interview to

HT City

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The only boxer to have won the world heavyweight championship title five times, Holyfield will shortly launch a chain of his namesake gyms and fitness centres in the country, starting with the Capital. Besides a state-of-the-art gym, where Holyfield himself will train patrons for some time, he will also bring about the

desi

version of fight club to the city. The gym will offer membership to the Holyfield White Collar Boxing club to corporates, where white-collared executives will be trained in boxing by Holyfield and others. “The Holyfield White Collar Boxing Clubs is a fun fitness club for people who work hard. And once they finish the basic training, they can be a part of the Holyfield Black Tie Fight Nights, and compete with their colleagues,” said Holyfield.

With a slew of boxers such as Vijender Singh, becoming pin-ups for the city's youth, the sport is fast catching attention. The boxing club will be spiked with some Page-3 glamour though. “After the competitive fights, champagne will flow,” says Darpan Sanghvi, who is Holyfield's partner in India.

The city's white collar set too is ready to don their boxing gloves and battle it out. "The corporate world is very competitive and we often have multi-organisation competitions in football and cricket. But boxing matches will be something else. There will be tons of guys and maybe even women who'd gladly ding up for this," says Pranab Pegu, 30, a banker from the capital. Delhi it seems is ready

dhisshum

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Fight Club Fundas

· This is the first time any such amateur fight club is being started by Evander Holyfield.

· To participate in the Black Tie Fight Night, a minimum of 3 months training will be required.

· The fights will be held in an actual, competition sized boxing rings.