Vijender: 'I am in the fighting zone'

Vijender, who maintained a clean slate by winning all seven fights in his debut year, is realistic in his approach. The ace Indian professional boxer is going through rigorous training away from the limelight in Manchester and is not too worried about the task in hand.

Vijender was delighted that several promoters were showing interest in promoting professional boxing in the country.

Vijender Singh is in the 'fighting zone.' With about three weeks to go for his Asia Pacific super middleweight title defence against Tanzanian Francis Cheka in Delhi, the ace Indian professional boxer is going through rigorous training away from the limelight in Manchester and is not too worried about the task in hand.

Vijender, who maintained a clean slate by winning all seven fights in his debut year, is realistic in his approach. “I have got nothing to lose. I am doing the same thing and I want to promote boxing in India. This is my second show in India and so many boxers have turned pro (in the meantime). That's what I want. We should do well in the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics and pro boxing. If I win, then good. If I don't, then I will have no regrets,” Vijender told the Sportstar.

“December 17 is the date. Let's hope for the best.” The 31-year-old shared a few details about his training schedule. “We are working on technique, doing a lot of weight training and conditioning. This week we had two sparring sessions, last week we had three. Next week, I am doing sparring on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesdays we have technique training. We also do track, swimming. I am in the fighting zone.

“Sometimes I fight for 10 rounds, sometimes 12 rounds. Sometimes I swim for 40 laps in an Olympic size pool. So, the number of hours depends on the schedule.”

Vijender said he was thrilled to know that several other Indian boxers, including Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar and Jai Bhagwan, were mulling over turning pro. “When I turned pro, I asked all, 'Why don't you come with me?' Many of them were apprehensive – 'No, no. What will happen? We are doing a job, who will sponsor us?.' Somebody took a step forward and others are following in. It is good for Indian boxing.”

Vijender was delighted that several promoters were showing interest in promoting professional boxing in the country. “There are four or five people who are doing this. This is good and should benefit the boxers,” he said.