He hasn’t lost a bout in close to five years and Vijender Singh is determined to keep the record with a world title to boot as he enters the new decade donning multiple hats, including the one of an active politician “with strong opinions“.
The 34-year-old trailblazing boxer, who delivered India’s first Olympic and men’s world championship medals in boxing back in 2008 and 2009 respectively, has logged an enviable 12-0 record in the professional circuit, which he entered in 2015.
“All the talk with my promoters is focussed on the world title. In all, I expect to compete in three-four fights this year with the world title being the big one. We are trying to ensure that this marquee fight happens in India,” said Vijender.
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Winning streak
Vijender last fought in November 2019, beating Ghana’s former Commonwealth champion Charles Adamu in a lopsided bout.
“I will continue to train with Lee Beard and move to Manchester in the next few weeks to begin my training there. While I am here, I train at a gym in Gurugram,” he said. Beard, who has trained professional stars like Ricky Hatton, has been Vijender’s trainer since 2015. Under his tutelage, the Haryana-lad clinched the WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental super middleweight titles.
The only time Vijender tasted defeat in the last five years was when he decided to take the political plunge ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He lost the election from South Delhi.
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Voicing opinions
Does he regret the move?
“Not one bit. I fully stand by it and I intend to be an active politician. I have strong opinions on issues and I like to be vocal. Being a politician gives you a platform to be the change,” he asserted.
“Kai baar aap seekhte hain, kai baar aap jitate hain (sometimes you learn, other times you win). That’s how I would describe my decision to join politics. It is a wonderful way to stay connected with the realities of life. Why should I have regrets just because I lost one election?” he asked.
Vijender said there is nothing wrong if people demand their heroes to voice an opinion in public.
“I believe athletes should speak. At one level, we are also representatives and our voices matter. It shouldn’t be that we are saying stuff only when being paid to do so. Views rakhne chahiye, generally (we should present our views).
“It helps the youngsters of this country in finding a voice. For instance, I don’t understand why we should spend so much time outraging on what Pakistan is doing. We should move away from that and focus on ourselves.
“That’s how we will progress. That’s the way forward, in my opinion,” he said.
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