Vijender Singh's pro-boxing debut on October 10th

Can Singh translate his amateur career success into professional fame?

On October 10^th in Manchester,England, Vijender Singh will become India’s first professional boxer in more than a decade. The card that will be held at the Manchester Arena will fetaure other stellar fighters, including local favorite Terry Flanagan, who will defend his lightweight against the dangerous Diego Magdaleno.

Singh has signed a multi-year contract with Francis Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, which manages other big names like Derek Chisora and Amir Khan. The contract will see Singh fighting six times in the first year. He said that he is very excited to make his professional boxing debut and is very grateful to Warren and Queensberry Promotions.

An enthusiastic Singh expressed how important the milestone is to him personally, as well as his fans and how determined he is to be the first Indian to win a professional boxing world title. He stated that he is bent on showing the world that India is a force to be reckoned with in the boxing world.

The Olympic bronze medallist is leaving no stone unturned in his preparations and has begun training in Manchester, under the tutelage of top trainer Lee Beard. The latter has been associated with boxing stars Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton in the past. Singh lauded Beard’s training, saying that he has learnt a lot in a short span.

Singh is a three-time Olympian, participating in the 2004,2008 and 2012 Olympics and winning India’s first medal at the prestigious event in 2008, when he won bronze. A debatable decision loss to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev in the 2012 edition saw him fall short of a repeat. Singh is credited with garnering mainstream attention for boxing in India, a country where the sporting environment is dominated by cricket. He has acted in a movie, modelled and made several television appearances, all the while attempting to shed some of the spotlight on the sadly neglected sport of boxing.

The ace pugilist’s decision to turn pro was much maligned in India by authorities and the junta alike, as the country would lose a potential Olympics medal. Singh, who is a deputy superintendent in the Haryana police under the sports quota, was embattled when seeking extraordinary leave for a year to compete in England. He moved the high court in August with a petition to implement the sports policy, which dictates that those recruited under sports quotas must be permitted to use their services in the primary pursuit of their respecive sports. The government of Haryana relented this past week and granted his request.

Singh’s opponent is as yet unkown, but if promoter Frank Warren’s words are anything to go by, it will be far from a cakewalk for his foe. Warren is equally excited about Singh’s debut and believes he can make a huge name for himself on the professional circuit.