Clad in a suit that resembled the stripes on a zebra, brown shoes, a blue tie and multicoloured headphones, Chinese No. 1 Zulpikar Maimaitiali was dressed to kill and seemed adamant to make a statement in unchartered territory. But Vijender Singh was in no mood to entertain his opponent’s intimidating entrance.
“He’s very colourful, that’s all I have observed. I am not scared by his mind games, you have seen people like him have challenged me earlier and the result is in front of you. My title is not going anywhere. On August 5th, I will be wearing two belts,” said Vijender.
On August 5th, Zulpikar is set to face India’s boxing supremo at the NSCI stadium in Mumbai. With two titles up for grabs, this is one opportunity that the Chinese isn’t willing to let slip.
Ever since Vijender beat Tanzanian, Francis Cheka in December courtesy a technical knockout, he hasn’t fought under the bright lights and it’s understandable that he’d be raring to go. But the 31-year-old revealed that at no point did annoyance get the better of him during this period.
“It wasn’t frustrating, I was immediately back in Manchester and was slated to fight once again in March with this Chinese guy but it wasn’t possible. We’re now settled and yes it’s been long, I want to fight.”
Lee Beard, who’s been training Vijender ever since he decided to turn pro, seemed extremely confident about his charge’s chances against his Chinese opponent. While the coach did accept that facing a southpaw would be tricky, he believes that it will in no way be insurmountable.
“When he first turned pro, Vijender had already participated in three Olympic Games. Normally guys turned pro in their early 20s. The only thing I was worried about was if he’ll behave as if he knows everything. Will he be open to new techniques? Which he was. Vijender will win the fight.”
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Asked how far away Vijender is in challenging for the world title, Lee refused to give a timeline but Singh’s promoter, Neerav Tomar reckons he is 5-6 matches away from challenging for the World Championship.
“Ability-wise, I know he’s at the right level now, but there’s no rush. He will pick up other titles along the way before he gets to that big opportunity. There’s nobody in this current division (super middleweight – 76.2 kgs) that Vijender can’t beat. It’s about getting the right fights at the right time,” he explained.
On August 26, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will fight in what will be 2017’s biggest boxing bout. Forbes reported that Floyd stands a chance to take away a whopping $400 million while Conor could pocket a cool $127 million from the high-profile match.
Vijender’s promoter, Tomar, though said that he isn’t in a position to reveal the purse for Singh’s fight. “We don’t want to disclose this over here. We are still not into the progression of that kind of fight where we can discuss fight purses. We will be discussing that personally for the contract,” he signed off.
