Haroon Khan to compete in PPBL

Pakistan’s first professional boxing event to launch in April.

KARACHI: Amir Khan’s brother Haroon Khan will compete in the Pakistan Professional Boxing League (PPBL) that will be launched in April in Lahore.

The PPBL Chief Operating Officer Umer Toor confirmed that the country’s first ever professional boxing event will take place from April 12, where Haroon will participate along with other boxers from Pakistan.

The PPBL will hold their first program in connection with the Punjab Sports Festival, while the organisation has also been recognised by the World Boxing Council (WBC).



In the years gone by, Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) was only affiliated with the International Amateur Boxing Association.

“Haroon has confirmed his participation and we have designed his contract with us,” Toor told The Express Tribune.

“Amir will also support this event. We are in talks with Haroon and he has agreed to participate in the event.”

After receiving the license from WBC, PPBL can hold title matches and international boxing events in Pakistan, which means that the local boxers would not have to travel abroad in order to participate in professional bouts.

“The WBC officials have also seen the local talent here in Islamabad,” said Toor. “But they want to see more people coming in. We have decided to field 20 local pugilists in the event.”

Toor said that the talent hunt has been a challenge and that PPBL will only be the next step in promoting the sport in Pakistan and helping the international body see the potential in local boxers through this event.

The WBC executive secretary Muaricio Sulaman also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in December. He appreciated the government’s efforts for supporting boxing as a sport and the PPBL in bringing international standards to Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2014.

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