When one thinks of boxing, bloodied noses and broken bones often spring to mind. Not so for Jonas Wulff Moller, director of MJ Group, a company that distributes Bang & Olufsen products in South-east Asia.

The 37-year-old Danish national of Korean heritage is a member of Vanda Boxing Club in the central business district. He maintains that the sport is more than just about two persons sparring to knock each other out. He slips on his boxing gloves three mornings a week for a workout that includes cardiovascular exercises, weight training, conditioning and shadow-boxing – an exercise where he throws punches into the air to build on his rhythm and agility.

Only once a month does Moller enter the ring to face an opponent.

“From the outside, it looks very violent, understandably,” he says. “But there is actually great respect among the people here – there has to be, because it can be a tough sport.”

He explains how respect is demonstrated: “You try not to throw that extra punch, even if you could do it. You don’t have to knock the other guy out. You know you can win, and everybody knows that too.”

Such confidence is befitting of someone who has boxed for some 20 years. He has suffered broken bones, blackened eyes and a broken nose over that period.

He picked up the sport when he was 17, when he was a conscript in the Danish army. Having to relocate to various parts of the world – like Bahrain and then the US – for work has not hampered his passion.

In fact, boxing’s other facets have made his move easier. “There is the social aspect to the boxing club. I have become part of a big social circle here whose members are very diverse,” he says. “I meet people here who I just wouldn’t run into on a day-to- day basis, whether they are locals or foreigners; regardless of their race, gender and age.

“There are a lot of good people who come here for the exercise and to socialise. And it is an incredible workout.”