Vijender Singh looks to live up to the hype

I have done a lot for my country in amateur boxing and now I want to do achieve something in the professional circuit which will be going to open new hopes for young Indian boxers in the pro boxing. Whiting turned pro in 2014 and has won two of his three pro bouts.

Despite the verbal provocation, Vijender has remained his usual composed self and has promised to answer every threat with his punches in the ring.

“I’ve seen Whiting face-to-face now and we will see on the night what he can do in the ring”. Now all my friends, fans and coaches in India, who have been asking me about the telecast of the fight can watch me live in action. “I will reply with my punches”, Vijender said on the eve of the bout.

Whiting on the other hand, asserted that Vijender’s record in amateur boxing will not matter once he steps into the professional circuit and promised to knock out the former World no. 1 by the second round. However, never before has an Indian boxer’s professional debut generated this kind of hype.

Amateur boxing has 4 rounds of 3 minutes each. I am not under any pressure, I am taking this as a responsibility. The strategy would be to enter the ring, hit hard and come out as a victor. “Now it is focussing the last few hours into the mental preparation and getting my mind set on defeating Whiting”.

Whiting, who has a knockout victory to his credit, has virtually derided Vijender’s amateur record and has vowed to give him a very rude welcome to the pro arena.

“There’s so much hype around this fight anyone would think that it’s the main event! What he’s done as an amateur doesn’t count, he’s now with the big boys in the pros”, Whiting added.

Ahead of his fight, the 29-year-old Vijender has set up base in Manchester to train under renowned coach Lee Beard and has been training alongside stable mates Jack Catterall, Adrian Gonzalez and Jimmy Kelly.

Although Vijender started his training more than a month late than originally schedule date of July 27, he has picked up fast under the watchful eyes of trainer Lee Beard.