Quite a few eyebrows were raised when Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh announced that he was turning professional in June last year. In the staid world of Indian boxing, it just wasn’t the done thing to do – boxers were supposed to meekly accept their fate and remain unpaid amateurs.
The big bad world of professional boxing was supposed to be a strict no-no. Due to the rules laid out down by the amateur International Boxing Association, turning professional immediately robbed Singh of the opportunity of competing at worldwide events, like the Olympics. This led to some criticism with some muted whispers about how he had turned his back on the country for the money at offer.
The 30-year boxer from Haryana remained unfazed. “I’m still representing India,” he said, after his fourth professional bout. “It’s the same as representing the nation on a global platform. I want to show the world that Indian fighters can be great fighters”
Five bouts and almost a year later, Singh has resoundingly answered the critics. Since his debut in the professional boxing world, he has not as yet lost a single bout. All five of his bouts have been won by knockout or technical knockout. Despite his experience in amateur boxing, the professional circuit was supposed to prove a tough task for him. But he’s rubbished all those doubts and what more, could win a title in the next few months.
Transitioning to a different world
“It’s like two different sports,” said Singh, in an interview to Scroll in November and indeed, professional boxing and amateur boxing have few similarities. Unlike amateur boxing, professional bouts take longer, increasing the risk of injury to the boxer. The gloves are smaller and tighter which means the pain from a blow is higher. And unlike amateur boxing where boxers go for points, the intention in professional boxing is to knock the opponent out.
The 30-year’s original contract mandated six fights within the first year but Vijender Singh’s fantastic start to his professional career means he has already got a chance of winning his first major title. When he travels to India on June 11, the 30-year old will have the chance to win the World Boxing Organization’s Asia title.
However since the world of professional boxing operates on a far different model, the details about Singh’s upcoming title bout has not been decided so far. The WBO is just one among several world championship sanctioning bodies in professional boxing, who each have their own titles in different weight categories. Each of these bodies have their own regional titles as well and Singh will be competing for one such regional title, the WBO Asia title.
A title shot beckons
A lot also depends on which weight category the 30-year old Haryana wrestler will fight in. Weighing in at 75 kg, Singh will compete in either the Super Middleweight category (76.2 kg) or the Middleweight category (72.58 kg). While there is no champion in the Middleweight category, he may face the reigning champion Rohan Murdock in the Super Middleweight category who has an 18-1 win-loss record.
In any case, just participating in the bout will help further Singh’s career in professional boxing. He will enter the official WBO rankings and allow him to move up the ranking, potentially earning him title shots at bigger titles.
But before he travels to India for that title bout, Singh has a chance to extend his dominance as he will fight another bout in the United Kingdom on May 13. Considering the coldly clinical efficiency he has demonstrated, don’t put it past him add a sixth straight win to his record. The worlds of professional and amateur boxing may be different as chalk and cheese, but Singh is making an emphatic statement of his credentials – in a far rougher world than what he was used to, he is burning a fierce trail.
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