After beating Australian Kerry Hope for WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in New Delhi on Saturday, Vijender Singh promises better things as he prepares to test deeper waters of professional boxing
Indian boxer Vijender Singh poses with the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight belt after his win over Australia's Kerry Hope at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi on Saturday
New Delhi: As cliched as it may sound, India's posterboy of boxing Vijender Singh was only spot-on when he blurted out "Singh is King" in front of a packed press conference after beating Australian Kerry Hope to the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex on Saturday.
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Indian boxer Vijender Singh poses with the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight belt after his win over Australia's Kerry Hope at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi on Saturday
Indeed, the kid from Kaluwas had grown into a king of the ring, with his 98-92, 98-92, 100-90 victory over Hope – a first title belt by an Indian on home soil.
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'This one's for India'
"Finally, I have done it. I have won a title. This belt means a lot of things. It's all about hard work and dedication. This is for my country," said Vijender promising this was only the start of bigger and better things to come as he now tests the deeper waters of professional boxing having broken into the Top 15 with this victory.
"This is just the beginning. My world ranking will be in the Top 15 now and I will get tougher fights in the future, but I am ready for it. I will work even more harder with my coaches and my team and we will go for it," said the 30-year-old Bhiwani boxer.
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It was by no means an easy outing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medal-winner and he doffed his hat to the Australian, four years his senior. "Kerry is an experienced guy. I respect him. He is a good fighter."
However, the clincher on the night had to be the intellect with which Vijender approached the fight as each round progressed with the realisation that it was getting tougher and tougher to eke out a knockout — something he is so used to having won six out of six previous pro fights through knockouts.
"This was the longest fight of my career. I completed 10 rounds finally. I didn't expect it (to go to 10 rounds) but the knockout was just not happening, so I thought of taking the fight to 10 rounds and winning each round on the way," explained the former world championship medallist and No 1 in amateur Middleweight category in the past.
Intelligent Viju
It's this intelligence that can take Vijender a long way in the world of professional boxing, feels his support staff.
"Full credit to Vijender for the intelligence with which he negotiated this fight. He did try to go in for a knockout a couple of times and we discussed it, but he quickly realised that it's no point wasting his energy in trying to knock Kerry out when he knew that he was winning his rounds any way. We spoke in between rounds and he was confident he could take it to 10 rounds and he did," said Vijender's trainer Lee Beard.
Promoter Neerav Tomar of IOS said only Vijender could re-write Indian boxing history the way he did.
Better than cricket
"What happened today (Saturday) gave me goosebumps. It's not sunk in yet. We tend to compare the excitement in any sport in India to cricket, but I don't think cricket can come anywhere close to this," Tomar said.
Finally, Vijender ensured his feet were planted firmly on the ground despite his successful rise in the world of pro boxing. When asked to rate this success with his Olympic medal, the boxer said: "I am here today because of my Olympic medal. People know Vijender Singh because of that medal. Before that no one knew me. The Olympic medal is very special for me, but having said that, this belt will have a special place too."
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