Vijender Singh says he won't let trash-talking Ernest Amuzu survive for 10 rounds in double WBO title bout

“I have seen his fights on YouTube. He is coming here to fight me, but I don’t think he will be able to survive for ten rounds,” Vijender Singh said dismissively of his Ghanaian opponent Ernest Amuzu, whom he would take on at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Indoor Stadium on 23 November. The bout, touted as ‘Rajasthan Rumble’, will witness Vijender defending his WBO Asia-Pacific Super Middleweight and WBO Oriental Super Middleweight titles, and Firstpost caught up over telephone with the ace boxer last Saturday to get a feel of how he was preparing, the mind games before a fight and what could be done to boost Indian boxing. [caption id=“attachment_4268739” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vijender Singh (C) celebrates after winning the double WBO title bout against Zulpikar Maimaitiali in Mumbai on 5 August, 2017. AFP[/caption] “I am fully prepared. There is just a week left. The weighing in would take place on Friday. All the training that had to be done is over. Till Friday, the focus will be on controlling the weight and Saturday would be the big day,” Vijender said. He, however, didn’t seem to be flustered by Amuzu’s record of 23 wins in professional boxing, and even less so by the Ghanaian’s efforts to intimidate him ahead of the fight. Amuzu had threatened to leave Vijender “beaten and broken in front of his home crowd” and that he will “smash him to the body to loosen him up” and then “a right hand (from him) will knock him out”. The African pugilist had also mocked Vijender, saying that the latter didn’t belong in the ring with him and that “he should stick to acting in films as he is just an actor in boxing”.

Does such trash talking bother Vijender? “Oh no, not at all,” said the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist, “I don’t get disturbed by such trash talking one bit. They are just trying to play with my mind. Their idea is to put you under so much of pressure since the very beginning that you start to think, what will happen to you or what your opponent will do to you. So I don’t read too much into such mind games and focus more on my training.”

Vijender has faced opponents in the past too who tried to ‘soften’ him up before a fight. One remembers Tanzanian Francis Cheka saying before a fight around this time last year that Vijender’s Olympic medal was “nothing” and that the Indian looked “scared already” and even went to the extent of saying that “India will be ashamed”. Result? Vijender knocked Cheka out early in the third round itself. There was Kerry Hope of Australia who, when asked about Vijender, had said that he would “chop him down”. Result? Beaten by Vijender for the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific Super Middleweight title. There was Alexander Horvath of Hungary who wanted to teach Vijender a lesson in boxing and revealed that he had taken to drinking snake blood to attain supernatural powers and get the better of the Indian. Result? Knocked out in the third round by Vijender. [caption id=“attachment_4268741” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vijender Singh (L) throws a punch at Zulpikar Maimaitiali during their double WBO title bout in Mumbai on 5 August, 2017. AFP[/caption] Vijender, on the other hand, has never engaged in such dubious tactics, once saying that his conscience forbade him to take verbal potshots at his opponents. “I feel such trash talking should be avoided in real life too,” said the Haryana lad. But hasn’t his migration to pro-boxing created a void in Indian amateur boxing? Who do we look up to for bringing home the medals from the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games now? With Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar and Olympian Jitender Kumar deciding to turn to pro-boxing as well, Indian amateur boxing seems to have taken a mighty blow. “No, no there are a number of other boxers. Good young talents are coming up. I don’t think there will be a void in Indian boxing. It is, was and will always be happening,” Vijender assured, before adding, “New boys will definitely come in, but it takes some time. I hope we get some new stars in 2020 and 2024 (Olympics).” The ace boxer, however, didn’t fail to remind us that a lot of work had still to be put in for the improvement of the sport in India. “There are still a lot of things that need to be done. I hope more pro-boxing matches are held and the newer boxers perform as well, so that they earn recognition for themselves and provide a good life to their families,” said the 32-year-old, who is widely considered, along with MC Mary Kom, as being the face of Indian boxing. “We have started the Vijender Singh Promotion Company. Promotions, though, depend upon the personality of an individual. Unless you present yourself well, why should the media write about you? So you have to do both — perform and look good,” added the boxer. For now, though, Vijender has his eyes trained on retaining his titles against the experienced Amuzu. One wonders, however, if the Bhiwani pugilist is surprised at having had a title opportunity so early in his pro-boxing career. Pat came the reply. “Not at all (surprised) because people have challenged for the world title in their first fight itself. I am an Olympic bronze medallist; so I am not surprised.” However, he remembers his first fight as being the toughest. “That was my first match in pro-boxing and I was going through a new phase in my career. There was a lot of controversy when I turned professional, and then because I had gone to UK to train. There was the issue of adjusting to a new team. So I think the first one was the most difficult fight,” Vijender noted. He has won nine fights on the trot and is the ‘Knockout King’; would he now fancy a bout with Amir Khan? I asked, hoping to light a spark. And it did have an effect! “If you can organise a fight with him, I am ready!” Vijender replied. You could feel the fire in his answer through the receiver of the phone. Readers would remember Khan’s blunt  comments when asked about a possible bout against Vijender anytime soon, which had the Haryana pugilist retaliating. One of the points raised by Khan, however, does seem to hold ground. And that is on Vijender not yet being tested against really tough opponents. Saturday’s fight doesn’t look to break that trend either, with Amuzu not occupying positions of prominence in the rankings of either the World Boxing Organisation (WBO), or Boxrec, which ranks boxers across all pro-boxing bodies. Despite being billed as the African champion in the promotions before Saturday’s fight, a little research would tell you that he is neither the continental champion (the WBO Africa title is held by World No 4 Habib Ahmed), nor the No 1-ranked boxer in his home country, Ghana. Boxrec ranks him 258th in the world, while Vijender has a way better rank of 49. On the WBO charts, Amuzu is not among the top-15 pugilists, while Vijender sits pretty at No 6. So there is a clear mismatch, which tells us that, notwithstanding Amuzu’s tall claims, it won’t be surprising if Vijender picks up another easy victory. “India wants to see you as the world champion soon,” I told him. “100 percent,” replied Vijender, signing off. The Vijender versus Amuzu fight for the WBO Asia-Pacific and Oriental Super Middleweight titles would be broadcast live on Sony Six SD and HD and Sony Ten 3 SD and HD (Hindi) at 7 pm.