The world raved recently when the big money churner between Manny Pacquiao of The Philippines faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. The difference in demeanours between the two was visible from get go. At the weigh in, Mayweather Jr, who at the time was 47-0, was his usual aggressive and cocky self. In contrast, Pacquiao, was anything but. A politician in his country, he would appreciate the crowd and his supporters.
That fight saw many in India also get up early and witness history in the making. What happened thereafter, may be forgotten though because the viewership clearly indicated that there was scope for professional boxing in India.
That wish would transcend on October 10 with a home name in the ring even if on a much, much smaller scale.
An amateur boxing ring measures 16 to 20 square feet while that of a professional bout is slightly bigger in 16 to 24 square feet. This minimal rise in size will be a massive step for one of India’s most talent boxers Vijender Singh.
Having achieved numerous feats with bronze medals at 2006 Asian Games, 2008 Olympics, 2009 World Amateur Championships and 2010 Commonwealth Games; silver medals at 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games and rounded up by bringing golden joy home in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Vijender would step up on the canvas in an entirely different format on October 10.
Vijender faces British pugilist Sonny Whiting in his first professional fight and it is safe to say that the Indian would be the underdog.
As the chatter of his two-year-old son rings the backdrop of this reporter’s telephone call to Vijender in Manchester, the boxer from Bhiwani sounds calm and composed even though he’s less than ten days away from taking his career and life into a totally different direction.
This decision to turn professional from an amateur has already had an impact on his fellow boxers, his family and the sport. Moreso — it may have a bearing on India’s medal prospects at the Rio Olympics where Vijender would have been a strong hopeful.
But in this world of professional boxing, the finances — or purse as it is known — go hand-in-hand with the skill if not take precedence over it. “When a boxer turns professional, he has two options — to be a home corner boxer or an away boxer. In the home corner you are expected to sell tickets. If you can’t do that, you don’t have a career in the home corner,” is what Mark Turley says in his book ‘Journeymen — The Other side of the Boxing Business.
Vijender, thus, would be in the home corner to bring in the large contingent of Indian diaspora into Manchester Arena where tickets start from £35 and go up to £500. However, unlike his previous big fights where all eyes have been on him, here the attention will be reserved for local boxer Terry Flanagan defending his WBO World lightweight title against Diego Magdaleno.
Vijender’s decision to turn pro left many in the sport fraternity angry. National coach Gurbax Singh had then said: “It is really very surprising for me. I am in a state of shock because I never expected this would happen.”
Vijender, however, says he has received only positive responses from his peers and well-wishers. “My family fully supported my decision. They gave me a lot of confidence. Same from my fellow boxers. Some even asked me to take them with me to Manchester. I have told them that I will work at it first and then bring them here too,” said Vijender.
But the most feathers were ruffled by his employer Haryana Police who asked him to step down from his post of Deputy Superintendent of Police. Their ruse was with him using an official post while not representing the tricolour. However, Vijender claims it was more of a media issue than anything inside. “I met the Chief Minister and my seniors. They were okay with my decision and asked me to follow my dreams. It was more of a media blowup than anything else. In truth, I have been promoted recently,” said a content boxer.
Fight before the fight: Training
An important aspect for any fight or in fact any sport is the practice and training that goes into it. This training gets compounded exponentially if one is a “newbie” to a sport. While one may consider it unfair to call Vijender a newbie, but for professional boxing — he is just that. Having the legendary trainer lee Beard in his corner would most definitely help his cause in bridging the gap between inexperience and relatively experience as would be the case during his bout with Whiting.
Vijender caught a cold a few weeks back but is in good condition now — both mentally and physically. He is working harder than he did during his amateur boxing days.
“The training is tiring. There are more people involved than in amateur boxing. There are strength exercises, almost 50 laps of swimming, track and field, then sparring, punching bags and weights. It is exhausting. My regular training day starts at 10.30 am and ends at 4 pm,” he said. The only respite he gets is at 1 pm for lunch.
In his amateur days, he said he would put in only a few hours in the morning and that would be good enough.
Having said that, he conceded that he had been doing amateur boxing for 15 years and could thus afford a relatively calmer training session. “The training is longer now with longer hours in the gym, so I need to get used to it and adapt to the professional level of boxing. I am enjoying the grind and my body hasn’t felt better,” he said.
Vijender claimed he isn’t undergoing any special training that a new professional boxer might need but has a few niggles to iron out. “No there is no special training for new boxers. There are three-four boxers who spar together helped by nearby clubs. That system is really helpful and aids everyone involved. I wish India would get such a system too,” he said.
With just nine days to go for the big fight, he is using every hour as an opportunity to get better and learn as he goes along. “I’ve been told by Beard to be there for training every day and just do my best — as I have and will. I’m feeling good and excited about the upcoming experience. Everyday is a learning experience. I am a straight-punching counter-attacker and I have clean straight punches. But, right now I am working on body blows. In professional boxing, body punches are very important. That’s what I have been focusing on. I am targetting the body more often now. There is more work involved in strength development, endurance building, changing the technique. But keep in mind, I have only been training for 25-30 days,” the 29-year-old.
The diet
While boxers are advised to maintain a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and water content in their body, Vijender hasn’t been told to restrict himself. Though “there is no Kadhai Chicken or Kadhai Paneer here (laughs), I haven’t been told to have different dietary conditions. The food here is different but I’m getting used to it. Before the fight, I have to reduce a little weight,” he admits. For now, he weighs 75 kg.
Home away from home
Since his decision to turn pro in June, he’s been going back and forth between India but for the past month, he’s been in Manchester with his wife and son. The adjustment to new surroundings and culture can be difficult and for Vijender and his family too it’s been no different.
His wife Archana who is from Delhi and their son have been asking him to move back to India but Vijender is adamant that, for now, their life belongs there. “They want to go home but that’s not possible at the moment. Post the fight, we’ll see how it goes,” he clarifies.
life in Manchester — a city with a sizeable Asian population, has been good for him so far and he likes the peaceful nature of the cosmopolitan city. “It is peaceful here and I like Manchester. Most of my day, 10-12 hours, goes in training. My funda is simple — eat, sleep and train. I’ve not been getting much time for leisure activities. When I did get some time away, I travelled to london to see a fight on Sunday (September 27). I plan to watch a football game in Manchester soon,” he says.
Asked which of the two football biggies in Manchester — United or City — he supports, Vijender says. “I love football but don’t support any team. Everyone asks me which team I support but I don’t have any choice. I enjoy the game,” he states. Away from the ring, he says he enjoys listening to music, watching videos on YouTube and watching movies.
He may have moved thousands of kilometres away but he still misses his homeland. “I am here but yes I miss India. In fact, I will be in India after the fight for 10 days. Then I will return to train and continue where I’d have left off,” he says.
On his only day off, he prefers to sleep because of the arduous training throughout the week. “I go off to sleep after training and on Sunday too to keep myself relaxed. Otherwise I shop or eat out with my family. We’ve been here a month or so and haven’t had the chance to go sightseeing yet,” he added.
He may be in Manchester but the stardom and his fan following hasn’t diminished much to his thrill. “People in Manchester know me and they come up to me to wish me luck. I am happy to hear from them and ask them to come for the fight,” he says rather sheepishly.
The big fight
Named as “World War III”, the main event may not feature Vijender but it would be a battle he won’t want to lose. Mostly after a lot has been said from his opponent.
Speaking about Vijender, Whiting spared no punches: “I hear that Singh is a massive superstar in India. I’ll be looking to send a brutal message back to his home when I beat him.”
Whiting has been in three bouts before, winning two and losing one but that relative experience may not matter much at the end.
The Kent-based boxer earns his living as a scaffolder giving him little time to spend in the ring, which gives Vijender a slight edge.
Besides, the Haryana boxer isn’t perturbed by the strong words or the challenge ahead of him.
“Right now it feels great. I am excited and focused. Not really nervous at the moment. I’ll just go in with full confidence.” He also acknowledges that it doesn’t matter to him how he fares because he’s fighting as he has before and not to silence his critics.
“I really don’t care about the critics. They can say what they want - it doesn’t matter to me. Boxing is my sport, it is my game, my work. People can say anything they want to.”
Many wonder if the experience and crowd on Whiting’s side would make a difference but Vijender is quick to remind you that he has both under his belt too. “At the end of the day, it’s just a boxing match. Just go in to fight. I have had prior experience of fighting in london, Athens, Beijing — they all will come in handy. I have learnt a few things and I would replicate them.
“Plus, when I was in london, there was plenty of Indian support so I hope same would be the case here. Still, I have boxed abroad more than in India so that won’t matter much to me,” he says with confidence.
His amateur days would help him in the fight, says Vijender. “I have talked to my coach and he’s told me to just keep doing what I do. Also my amateur days will help me because then I would face a boxer who I wouldn’t have seen before or would have only found out my opponent a day prior. In this case, I have a headstart to look at his videos and study him,” he concludes. At the fight he saw in london, he met a few stars but didn’t recognise most. However, he would love to see Bollywood celebrities come watch his fight!
