Vijender Singh: It's just the beginning... I will get tougher fights now

New Delhi As cliched as it may sound Indias posterboy of boxing Vijender Singh was only spoton 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 SaturdayAlso Read Vijender Singh fighting Amir Khan will be massiveIndian boxer Vijender Singh poses with the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight belt after his win over Australias Kerry Hope at Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi on SaturdayIndeed the kid from Kaluwas had grown into a king of the ring with his 9892 9892 10090 victory over Hope ndash a first title belt by an Indian on home soilAlso ReadSports political personalities hail boxer Vijender on Asia Pacific titleThis ones for IndiaFinally I have done it I have won a title This belt means a lot of things Its 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 victoryThis 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 30yearold Bhiwani boxerAlso ReadSoon India will have a world champion John DugganIt was by no means an easy outing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalwinner and he doffed his hat to the Australian four years his senior Kerry is an experienced guy I respect him He is a good fighterHowever 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 mdash something he is so used to having won six out of six previous pro fights through knockoutsThis was the longest fight of my career I completed 10 rounds finally I didnt 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 pastIntelligent VijuIts this intelligence that can take Vijender a long way in the world of professional boxing feels his support staffFull 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 its 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 Vijenders trainer Lee BeardPromoter Neerav Tomar of IOS said only Vijender could rewrite Indian boxing history the way he didBetter than cricketWhat happened today Saturday gave me goosebumps Its not sunk in yet We tend to compare the excitement in any sport in India to cricket but I dont think cricket can come anywhere close to this Tomar saidFinally 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