Clinical aggression, effortless swagger – Vijender Singh is a champion who can do no wrong

As a sportsman, you cannot be taught to have attitude. You cannot be trained to increase your swagger. That twinkle-eyed arrogance, that effortless ease in doing what you love – and doing it exceptionally – is something you are born with, something that has the capacity to inspire millions. There’s a sense with sportsmen and athletes like Thierry Henry, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, and closer home, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, that they could probably choose to play any sport and would be world-beaters at that with the same audacious brilliance. Conversely, you can hardly think of their disciplines without being reminded of their excellence in it.

Thus it is with Vijender Singh Beniwal inside a ring. Put him in front of cameras for interviews and the man will gamely try with a microphone in his hand, taking his promotional duties as a challenge to be met. Put him in front of a capacity crowd and cameras in the middle of the boxing ring, and the man is in his element. This is his space and all who watch him then, know it. He seems to stand a few inches taller and radiate the same muscular pride as the greats tend to do.

Attitude and showmanship

There was a moment in his title-defending bout with Francis Cheka that will stay for a long time with those who witnessed it. In the middle of the second round, Cheka was still probing consistently with his trusty left jabs. Vijender Singh easily sidestepped two, swayed away from a third, and on the fourth, went in with a right of his own which connected sweetly with Cheka’s left temple. Singh’s instinctively cheeky gesture after that was enough to bring the Delhi crowd to their feet. If there is anything Indian crowds love, it is attitude and showmanship, and Singh provides both in buckets when in full flow.

Less than four minutes after that, the bout was over.

The Delhi crowd had been waiting impatiently for the “Night of Champions” (it’s not “Thrilla in Manila”, but there you go) and its star attraction to take centre-stage. Four promising Indian fighters had dispatched of relatively weaker opposition in the build-up to the final show-stopper.

As Vijender Singh strode out to the ring, the noise from the almost full-house crowd was deafening, and it seemed like his constant promotion over the last few weeks had worked. Now what mattered was to make it count in the ring.

Done and dusted in four minutes

The fight started with a cagey intensity, with both boxers circling each other, carefully probing and measuring the other out. Cheka was the first to go on the offensive, opening with his potent left jabs, trying to unsettle the Haryanvi’s defence. For all his experience and guile in previous fights, Cheka seemed to be the one unsettled and rushed, and Singh the one who was willing to be patient and focused. The first round ended with Singh landing three punches to Cheka’s one.

Singh went into the second with more intent, as he used his height advantage, while Cheka almost played into his hands by giving him the freedom of the ring. The few times that he tried to get close to negate the advantage were when he was too slow to dodge the hard rights coming his way. Even as he reverted to his rushed left jabs to try and land some blows, Singh connected with that solid right. The dazed Cheka must have seen one giant grinning Singh right in front of him with his one leg raised and arms behind his back, and wondered just what he had gotten into. With seven punches to Cheka’s three, this was Singh’s round all the way.

In Singh’s words, he wanted to “toy with Cheka” after connecting in that second round. There were things that were said pre-bout that Singh felt he needed to put to rest decisively. Singh felt he could have gone in for the kill but controlled himself, reminding himself that there was time.

Cheka must have known this as well, though perhaps less lucidly than Singh did. He started the third round like a wounded animal, desperate to connect with a blow of his own. In that desperation, all those years of experience and titles went to naught, as the crowd howled and bayed for blood each time Singh’s gloves connected with flesh. The crowd’s wish was granted, when just under two minutes into the round, Cheka, having felt the full brunt of two hard rights, felt blood streaming from recently opened gashes.

Vijender Singh was declared winner by TKO (Technical Knock-Out) and retained the WBO Asia-Pacific Super Middleweight Champion.

The road is long yet for the relative newcomer in professional boxing. He will reportedly challenge for a European title in 2017, and perhaps even the Commonwealth title. Thus far, it has been near perfect, but the challenges will only get exponentially tougher.

For now though, Vijender can bask in the glory of a clinical title defence. India’s champion has proved himself yet again.