Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, known to followers as Mary Kom, is currently basking in glory after she become the world no 1 boxer in the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) rankings.

The 2012 Olympic bronze-medallist and six-time world champion told CNBC-TV18 that Super Boxing League will help to grow the popularity of the game.

Super Boxing League is the first professional boxing league in India. The league is organised with the support of World Boxing Council and Professional Boxing Organisation India.

The Manipuri said the league will give an opportunity for youngsters to show their performance, thereby making it good for the game in general, “It will also engage fans to follow the sport at a large scale.”

The mother of three children said, “I have seen a lot of changes in the boxing. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and corporates have started supporting upcoming boxers, who performed at the national and international arenas.”

Kom said her academy, Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation, is getting support from the corporates to train and provide facilities to young talent in Imphal and hopefully with time things will get better.

Talking on government and corporate support for sports in India, she said, “I always focus on my game and corporates are also supporting us in a big way. The Khelo India Youth Games initiative by centre has found young talent, who have won medals and she believes that more such initiatives should be reinvigorated in the sport.

With the creation of Indian Premier League in 2008 and its runway success in the country, India has seen a boom in sports league. Later, various sports tournaments launched in India such as Hockey India League, Indian Super League and Pro Kabbadi League to promote the games.

Calling payment of $9 million to Floyd Mayweather for participating in the 9 minutes boxing match as an encouragement for players, she said such matches must be held in India also.

She endorses Herbalife, a global nutrition company, for a decade and recommends that corporates must play any preferred sport every day, run or indulge in light exercise and drink adequate water.

First Published:Feb 5, 2019 5:54 PM IST