China to host first-ever professional boxing bouts

China is to host first-ever professional boxing bouts, according to International Boxing Federation (IBF) China here on Tuesday.

Since China decided to give all commercial events thumb-up last year to promote development of dominant sport industry, IBF China believed that 2015 will be a watershed between two eras of Chinese professional boxing.

"We don't have a (professional boxing) world champion in China. We are going to knock on that door," said IBF president Daryl J. Peoples on Tuesday's press conference.

Although Chinese former Olympic champion Zou Shiming didn't win IBF world title on March 7, Peoples believed that Zou had "proved Chinese boxers in professional level" and "will be remembered by the history".

According to IBF China president Jiang Qiang, 2015 IBF Bouts in China will start from March with in total of more than 300 million dollars prize money prepared for the boxers. The China Rating system will be recognized by IBF.

IBF China also founded Chinese Professional Boxing Alliances with more than 30 clubs in China on Tuesday to power-up IBF China, cultivating the training of referees, judges as well as boxers, according to executive president of IBF China Wang Ruihang.

International Boxing Association (AIBA) had strict rules of limiting professional boxers on attending Olympic Games and had launched AIBA Pro Boxing in recent years, trying to divide the cake from the four major professional boxing organizations including IBF.

Regardless of that, IBF president Peoples was still confident in their future.

"We are going to keep an eye on that. We are not going to confront them directly, but we are going to make sure everyone in boxing knows, especially the younger athletes, there is another new avenue outside the AIBA," said Peoples, who put his bets on transparency of his organization.

IBF China is the only exclusively and legally authorized organization to administer the boxing in China on behalf of IBF.