India’s pro-boxing sensation Vijender Singh will look to continue his undefeated streak in the professional arena when he takes on Welsh-born Australian Kerry Hope in his maiden title bout for the WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight belt here on Saturday.
Undefeated so far in the professional arena, Saturday’s opponent Kerry could be the toughest test waiting for the 30-year-old Indian.
The Welsh-born Hope, who emigrated to Australia, brings with him 30 bouts of experience, winning 23 (four of them were knockouts).
However, the Indian’s incredible start to the professional life, winning all of his six bouts so far in the professional arena via knockouts, will put him right in the mix to secure his maiden title on Saturday at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex.
The 30-year-old Indian, who will be competing in his maiden professional bout in India, simply cannot wait to fight in front of a packed home after a gap of nearly six years.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s been a long time since I fought here. It was in 2010 when I fought here in 2010 CWG. It’s about six years now. It is going to be a great bout and I am very excited about it,” said Vijender after the official weigh-in and face off with Kerry on Friday.
None of Vijender’s opponents so far have quite matched up to his level, with Frenchman Matiouze Royer in his fifth bout making him work the hardest by taking the bout into the fifth round of the six-round super middleweight contest.
However, Hope remains confident of beating Vijender in front of his home crowd saying, “I have trained very hard and I can see that he hasn’t. So I am very confident.”
In reply to the statement, the Indian said: “We will see tomorrow night.”
The 30-year-old, who came in at 75.7kg in the official weigh in, also has extra motivation for his maiden title bout as a win on Saturday will take him into the Top-15 of WBO world rankings and open the door for him to compete with the big boys.
“It will open the door for world title bouts, so that would be a progression for me,” said Vijender.
Whereas Hope added: “This bout will open the doors to bigger things in life.”
The approximate 5,000 crowd at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex will definitely be a factor for the fight. While most of the support will be pouring in for the Indian, Hope doesn’t seem too bothered about it.
“I have been there and done it. I know what it’s like,” added the 34-year-old Australian who weighed 74.9kg.
The height difference could be a factor on Saturday. Singh, at 6ft, has a slight reach advantage over Hope, who is at 5ft 10.
Vijender, who has two promoters — India-based IOS and UK—based Queensberry Promotions, will hope to make the most of his height difference and will look to continue with his trend of grabbing another knockout win.
When asked if he is confident of getting another knock out win, the Indian said: “I will try.”
The 2008 bronze Olympic medal winner also feels that Saturday’s fight will be a decisive one for Indian boxing.
“This fight will surely decide the future of pro-boxing in the country. I will try to come up with a super show. I hope we succeed in this new endeavour,” Vijender added.
The Saturday night fight will also feature seven other undercard bouts, comprising boxers from the Indian Boxing Council’s stable and two Thai invites. One of the seven fights will be a women’s exhibition bout, featuring boxers — Boichang and Nengneihat — from the celebrated MC Mary Kom’s academy.
Moreover, an India IBC super welter weight championship title fight between Siddharth Verma and Dilbagh Thakran will also take place.
An August gathering of sporting legends, politicians and Bollywood celebrities will be in full attendance at the Thyagaraj stadium, with sizeable number of fans are expected to be in attendance as well.