Vijender Singh and Kerry Hope brought forth their A game on the night that mattered and gave an intense exhibition of Boxing that the crowd lapped up with the oohs and the aahs as the Indian came on top after ten rounds to clinch the WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight belt. Vijender Singh, thus, recorded his seventh consecutive win of professional boxing with this win.
The biggest pro boxing event in India lived up to its top billing as great boxing action was served to the millions of viewers who followed it on television and in Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi by Australian Kerry Hope and India’s Vijender Singh. The bout that was the last of the night that saw six Indians go up against pro boxers from different parts of the world lasted 10 rounds. In attendance were who and who’s of Indians sports and politics who came in support of the Haryana boxer.
The first round saw both the boxers measuring each other up and it was only in the second round that the punches started flying thick and fast. Vijender used his long reach to good use to startle the Australian Southpaw with a number of upper cuts. Hope bounced back quickly in the third round as the 30 year old Singh looked flustered at the end of it. Fourth round saw Hope deal with a vicious attack from Singh which left him with a bruised left eye. Hope ended the round on a high when he unleashed one of the best punches of the night to stun Singh.
The action intensified further and there was no holding back from both the boxers fighting for the WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight belt. Kerry Hope’s defensive game came to the fore in the sixth round before Vijender demolished it in a matter of few seconds with a flurry of punches despite a bruise below his eyes.
Hope used the strategy of conserving his energy and kept coming back at Vijender who looked visibly tired after seven rounds. The Indian’s punches flew but missed the target in the seventh and eighth round on a number of occasions. On the other hand, the Australian used his southpaw advantage well and inflicted considerable damage on the Indian. Yet, it was tough to separate the two as they dished out a brilliant exhibition of aggression in the face of adversity.
Vijender made the ninth round his own despite looking a little scrappy and landed the punches just where he would have liked to unsettle a tired looking Hope. This turned the game in favor of the Indian and the crowd was already cheering to celebrate Vijender’s victory a minute before the final round came to an end.
