John Abraham packs a punch

Be it for the bulging muscles he bared (again) in Shootout At Wadala, or his oft-talked about rigorous workout regimen, John Abraham has established himself as a fitness icon.

Now, the actor is combining this love for sports and fitness with his business acumen (he is a B-school graduate)

to rope in former world heavyweight champion David Haye for a “few selected” fitness centres across India with boxing as a major form of exercise.

Boxing in India has, of course, come into popular focus recently, thanks to an Olympic medal (at the 2012 Games in London) and a film-in-progress on its winner, pugilist Mary Kom. Not a bad time, perhaps, to harvest the interest in the sport.

John, apparently a boxing enthusiast himself, says about his partnership: “I’ve trained with him (David) and realised that we share the same passion for fitness and the sport of boxing. We have a lot of mutual respect. I’ve always endorsed fitness and a healthy lifestyle, and look to pioneer a new trend in India in association with David.”

The British boxer is already in the process of opening his gym in Dubai, called Hayemaker Gym, and is will now bring a similar experience to India in collaboration with John and his JA Fitness franchise.

A source close to the actor provides further details, saying, “As of now, plans for opening three institutes in Mumbai are being chalked out. They are likely to come up at places like Worli, Andheri and Bandra. They will also be opening one in Delhi. But, eventually, there will be a chain of institutes that will open all over India.”



David who?
The 6 ft 3 in British pugilist David Haye is a former world cruiserweight champion. Hailing from the Bermondsey district of south London, he has an impressive record of having beaten 24 out of 26 opponents by knock out. He is currently ranked world no. 3 heavyweight contender by the Transnational Boxing Rankings.