Ever since losing his first professional bout, ace boxer Vijender Singh has had only one thing on his mind: A quick return to the ring and a come back to the winning ways.
India's first Olympic medal-winning boxer has waited for over a year but finally, that return is going to happen on 17 August at home, against Ghanaian boxer Eliasu Sulley.
Sulley has an 8-0 record as a professional boxer but for Vijender, who has world championships bronze and Asian Games gold to his name, the Ghanaian shouldn't really be a big challenge. However, there are a few concerns for sure, emanating from the 2021 bout where an unheralded Russian boxer Artysh Lopsan defeated the Indian boxing great with a technical knockout.
Being inactive since late 2019, Vijender decided to put his 12-0 unbeaten pro boxing record on the line against Lopsan in ‘Battle on Ship’ without the services of his regular coach Lee Beard. The coaching team was unable to travel to India due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the March 2021 fight and Vijender was forced to train with homegrown boxers.
"He (Lopsan) is not that good a boxer. I have defeated bigger boxers and Olympic champions, but when time is not in your favour things do go bad. Not having the team behind me backfired. But that's in the past now. I am fully prepared for the next bout," Vijender tells Firstpost reflecting on his first pro boxing defeat.
The stark reality of the bout was how the then 35-year-old Vijender was battered by punches from Lopsan as the Russian proved to be stronger and faster. The referee had to stop the contest in the fifth. For India's most decorated male boxer, it was a bitter pill to swallow. He is not ready to leave anything to chance now even if he is billed as the favourite against Sulley. Back with coach Beard in Manchester, Vijender doesn't even mind taking the bruises to his body to get back to his best.
"Jab tak maar na pade, tab tak app fit nahi hote. Maine toh bahut maar khayi hain in sparring (You don't get fit till you get hit. I have taken a lot of blows on the body in sparring). I am back training with Lee Beard in Manchester. It has been over six weeks. We did sparring and hard training in sprinting and swimming. I am feeling very fit. We have watched Sulley's videos and have made our plans for him. We have done all the training to be ready for the bout," Vijender says.
Weekend 👊🏽😎 pic.twitter.com/Yv7oW7cV87
— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) July 16, 2022
"We lost two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. We tried fighting without our UK team in Goa but that experiment failed badly. But we are looking forward to the next bout which will be in Raipur on the 17th. It's like a new start and we will try to do better than before."
Vijender though doesn't want to fire a warning to his next opponent. He is not afraid of the challenge, but as he points out, he is the host.
"We are the host this time so it would be improper to invite him for a bout and fire a warning. If he says anything, we will reply after that," Vijender says.
The upcoming bout which is also dubbed ‘The Jungle Rumble’ will be held at the Babir Juneja Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. This will be the first professional fight to be held in the city and Vijender sees it as an opportunity to spread boxing to new corners of the nation.
"It's another opportunity to spread boxing. The more the sport grows, the more the Indian boxers will benefit. We have gone to Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Goa and now we are in Raipur. We are happy that we are able to take the sport to so many corners," he shares.
Thank you so much for the best wishes hon Shri @bhupeshbaghel Ji! I will give my best for #TheJungleRumble! It'll be an entertaining one for everyone, whether they watch it on the screen or in the stadium. Are you ready, Eliasu Sulley? pic.twitter.com/e4d1jiKD3l
— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) August 9, 2022
Vijender turned pro in 2015 and fought 11 bouts in the next four years also winning the WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental titles. Since turning pro, Vijender has always maintained that his target is to fight for the world title. However, only two fights in the last three years have seriously dented his chances while pushing him down in the pecking order of the competitors. He seems to have been stripped of the belts due to inactivity while his plans for another bout in US since 2019 has not materialised.
Now 36, Vijender is up against the time but is hopeful of turning a corner soon.
"We are hoping to host another bout soon in Jodhpur and of course, the aim is to fight for the world title. Hopefully, all this will happen soon," he concludes.
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