Punching above one’s weight: Adnan Haroon’s mission to make boxing popular in Bangladesh

Back in the late '70s, Muhammad Ali, considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, took part in an exhibition match at Dhaka Stadium against a 12-year-old Bangladeshi boxer. 

Upon his arrival in Dhaka, Ali was received by two million fans at the airport. Later, he was awarded a Bangladeshi passport and a plot in Cox's Bazar, and a stadium named in his honour — a testament to the popularity of both Ali and boxing in Bangladesh at the time. 

Yet, 45 years later, boxing struggles to gain much traction in the country. And that poses a challenge for Adnan Haroon, for whom boxing has become "more than life". 

Indeed, Haroon lives and breathes boxing. Currently serving as the chairman of the Bangladesh Boxing Foundation (BBF) and the president of Xcel Sports Management and Promotions, he has embarked on a crusade to popularise professional boxing in Bangladesh.

Introduction to boxing 

Ten years ago, Haroon wasn't even a spectator of the sport.

"I used to watch wrestling and the UFC, but I did not follow boxing religiously. How it came up is through my involvement in fitness. I enjoyed all forms of fitness; crossfit, weight training, running — you name it, I tried it," he recalled.

Then Covid-19 hit.

"Everything changed, businesses were shut down, and I went into depression. I decided to give boxing a try, for fitness. I reached out to a few trainers and boxers," he said. "It was just something that piqued my interest, but nothing that I wanted to pursue professionally."

And then Haroon went into a spiral, perhaps because the pandemic limited the things one could pursue then. 

"I even set up a boxing ring in my home. You just fall in love with something. You realise there is so much potential, and then you want to do something about it."

Photo: Noor E Alam

So at 36, an age by which most boxers are well into retirement, Haroon decided to get punched in the head multiple times per session, three days a week. He told his trainer to teach him like he would any other student. And that meant absorbing a lot of punches. [Standard 16oz gloves used for sparring are deceptive; the gloves actually protect a boxer's hands more than they protect his opponent's head].

Once he met the boxers, Haroon wanted to find out how professional boxing worked in Bangladesh. He did not find much, as professional boxing was still in its infancy and boxing was mostly relegated to amateur bouts and events sanctioned by the Bangladesh Amateur Boxing Federation. But nevertheless, he fought his first and only professional bout in 2021. Unsatisfied with the way things were being run, the 37-year-old then hung up the gloves and took up the responsibilities of an administrator for the sport. 

Deciding to pursue "boxing promotion" as a career, instead of focusing on his other business obligations of running a hotel or his coworking space, naturally had everyone questioning Haroon's sanity. His friends, his family, his associates — everybody had their doubts.

"Even my wife thought I had lost it," he laughed. But Haroon carried on. "I had to prove it to myself. It was something that I did for myself, nobody else."

The 'genesis' of Xcel 

"Our first event was held at Chef's Table Courtside."

And that was the birth of Xcel Sports Promotions, with the aptly named 'XBC Genesis' event. 

It was an amateur event which Xcel organised in partnership with the Bangladesh Amateur Boxing Federation. The next event, 'Banglar Mushtibaj' (Bengal's Boxer), was also an amateur event held at the Banani SWAT FC Field. Building upon that experience, Haroon realised they were now ready to organise a professional boxing event. So, he started networking with international governing bodies and travelling abroad to learn how things work. 

Finally, with the help and guidance of the World Boxing Council, Asian Boxing Council, and Indian Boxing Council, the Bangladesh Boxing Federation was formed. 

Ultimate Glory, Xcel's first pro boxing event followed suit on 16 May 2022. It was also Bangladesh's first international boxing event, featuring seven bouts, three of which were international fights and the rest were local fights. The event found great success, thanks to local boxers Sura Krishna Chakma and Mohammed Alamin both respectively bagging victories over the lightweight and welterweight champions of Nepal.

More events followed in rapid succession, including the popular 'Rumble in Gulistan' and 'Bad Blood in Banani'. 

Photo: Noor E Alam

And then came the grandest event of it all — Beximco XBC Fight Night — earlier this year. For this, Xcel chose Hotel InterContinental as the venue and had conglomerate Beximco as the title sponsor. What truly made the event grand was the title fight between Ruqsana Begum and Tanjila for the WBU Female (Flyweight) Intercontinental Championship Belt.  

Throughout each successive event, Haroon realised that one of the biggest challenges for him as a promoter was to book 50-50 fights.

"You have to get as close to 50-50 as possible. You have to make sure the match-making does not go in favour of your [fighters'] opponents," he explained. 

Sweet science, bitter economics

When Muhammad Ali visited Bangladesh, businesses were savvy to his popularity and then state-owned Uttara Bank had even taken out ads in newspapers.      

Such glory days of boxing, mostly propelled by Ali, no longer exist in Bangladesh.

"Think of media support. Our last show [XBC Fight Night 2.0] was one of the biggest in South Asia in terms of match-making. I got phone calls from 15-20 promoters after the show. I got calls from international TV stations who wanted to show clips of our event," Haroon said, pointing out that local media have yet to pick up boxing as a popular sport. 

The limited exposure is a problem, he added.

"When I went to Thailand with Alamin for his fight at the Evolution Fight Series, I saw two or three TV stations involved with the production. The promoter told me that the TV stations would cast the show live and pay him money. But here, we are the ones who have to pay the broadcaster," he further said.

Haroon also said the absence of an arena makes exposure to the sport difficult for the general public.

"Hosting an event in a five star hotel might be our sponsor's requirement, but how do I show the event to a bigger audience in such an exclusive venue? It is okay as long as we can cover our expenses, but it is not a profitable approach."

Then there is the issue of sponsorships. With cricket sucking up most of the funds, there is very little to go around for alternative sports in Bangladesh.

Attracting sponsorships for such events come with a host of challenges. Much like Haroon's friends and family, his initial sponsors had their doubts. 

Xcel's first event attracted Prime Bank, Apex Lingerie Limited, Securex, SS Steel, Green Delta Insurance Limited and Bongo as sponsors. 

But as the events grew bigger, bigger sponsorships were needed.   

"When Beximco agreed to sponsor us, they had the most doubt, and the amount of scrutiny I had to go through for that, I have honestly never faced anything like that in my life. It is because they are a very professional organisation, they do their due diligence," Haroon recalled.

"And it's good they do, because their scrutiny made me more professional. They are a major brand so they want things done accordingly, in terms of their brand value not being harmed and also getting the most exposure."

Haroon and his promotion must have struck a chord with the company since Shayan F Rahman, group CEO of Beximco, recently told TBS that in the coming days, boxing will be one of the top three priorities for the organisation when it comes to promoting sports. 

Making and sustaining fighters

Then there is the challenge of building up fighters with potential. And keeping them fed.

"Even in the rest of the world, boxers have to resort to side gigs, save for a few top boxers like Canelo Alvarez who secure $200 million purse money," Haroon said. 

"In terms of purse money, we pay our boxers 20% higher than neighbouring countries. And the boxers can also negotiate for higher pay," he added.     

The problem with prize money is that the boxers have nothing else to survive on until the next fight. Combat athletes require, apart from hours of gruelling training sessions, proper nutrition, recovery and medical care.

"So we have taken a few promising boxers under our wing. We are going to help them financially, and their main job is to train twice a day. We are going to provide for their food and accommodation. A few of us have come together to create a fund for these boxers. Our aim is to build at least two world-class boxers through this," Haroon explained.

The boxers now train at Xcel TKO Boxing Club — a partnership between Xcel Promotions and East London-based TKO Boxing Club — in Bhatara, which has been created with the sole intention of giving professional boxers (and enthusiasts) a proper place to train. 

The aim, according to Haroon, is for boxers to get 10 wins under their belt and head to international events, where the purse money is much higher.

Sponsorships also go a long way to help athletes meet their expenses. But that is another field where boxing is sorely lacking in Bangladesh. The only boxer to have a sponsorship so far is Sura Krishna Chakma, who won the Asian Boxing Federation's Super Lightweight Intercontinental Championship recently and has been a brand endorser for MFS provider bKash since last year. 

"Hunger and drive only takes you so far, you know. Boxers need the right training, nutrition and mental guidance to reach their full potential," Haroon added.

Ultimately, minutes on the canvas are very valuable. "You can't just put anyone in the ring. You lose them at the first event they go to, and they are never coming back."

For the last two years, Bangladesh Boxing Foundation and Xcel Sports Promotions have been working to help the culture of professional boxing grow in Bangladesh.  

"As boxing has historically been limited to the amateur division, it was not open to civilians. We could not watch it in an open field or an arena, for instance. So the boxing fans in Bangladesh who could watch global events could not be a part of the sport in their own country. So there was no culture of boxing, and without an established culture, promoting it has become very difficult," Haroon said.

But by arranging successful shows one after the other since the beginning, Haroon seems to be on the right track to finally put boxing on the map.