City gears up for the big 'white collar' bout

Bengaluru: Corporate tournaments abound in plenty in badminton, golf, et al but a corporate boxing tournament is surely a novelty and as unique as they come.

The White Collar Bout popular in South-East Asia is slated to get the adrenaline pumping at the Lalit Ashok on Saturday .

“The whole gym theory in India is monotonous and people are getting smart and looking towards nonconventional sports. When I came here in 2010 since I was doing it, I felt that others people might also like it. That's how FFC was born.“ said Austin Prakesh, the founder and CEO of Fitness Fight Club (FFC).

With the aim of helping working professionals who want to stay fit, WCB, which is conducted by FFC, is now entering its second edition and has grown exponentially .

“We are expecting around 260 people in the audience and have 30 people fighting in the boxing and kick boxing discipline including (ten) women,” said Austin.

Popular misconception is competitors from ‘Fight Club’ turn up with black eye and bloody noses, whereas the reality is far from it.

The tournament will have gloves that have more padding, head gear and shin guards for kickboxing while body protection has been done away with from the previous edition.

“Everyone is trained to protect themselves,” said Murali Chitta – a Dell employee, who took it up initially for fitness reasons before falling in love with the sportwhile agreeing that there is always a small chance of people hurting themselves but not more than in any other sport.

Olive Beach chef Varun Pereira also echoes the sentiments while remarking that the tournament can give a rush for the participants. With intense training and fitness regimes followed throughout the year, these athletes are ready and raring to go for the eight belts up for grabs.

WCB 2013 will also feature auction of sports memorabilia across boxing, cricket, golf and F1 with the entire earnings to be donated to the Needy Heart Foundation to cure children of heart ailments.

“It’s not the fight that matters, win or lose, they are all winners. It’s fighting for a cause. And also it is a very bonding sport,” said the founder of FFC.