After a thumping win against Sony Whiting in his first professional bout in Manchester, Vijender Singh did not spend much time celebrating his victory. The Indian started preparations for his second bout on 30 October at the Harrow Leisure Centre, even if his opponent has not been decided so far.
Vijender made a bright start to his pro career, but he needs to maintain that level in the ever competitive level of pro boxing. Vijender has been putting in six hours of daily work in order to maintain perfect fitness when he goes into his second bout.
"My training for the second fight started just 24 hours after my debut fight and I am working hard again. My trainer Lee Beard is working hard on me. Spending six hours daily training and working on physical and mental fitness. I want to continue the winning momentum," Vijender told The Times of India in an interview.
Vijender, who started his career as an amateur, was won the 2008 Olympic Games bronze medal and 2010 Asian Games gold medal along with other achievements in the Commonwealth games.
But there is a huge difference when one takes a leap from amateur to pro level, hence Vijender needs to focus on training and building up his stamina and strength.
"Pro is not easy thing, daily I am training minimum for six hours and thereafter also I am watching some professional boxing videos to learn new and new things. Training involves lot of physical workout," said Vijender.
Vijender Singh should consider himself lucky, as he is training under the watchful eyes of Lee Beard, who is one of the most well-known boxing trainers.
The Indian believes Beard has changed his technique and improved his defence. The pugilist, who will definitely get better under Beard, can look forward to some major fights in the near future if he comes up with consistent performances in the pro circuit.
"I have learnt a lot from Lee Beard and he is successfully changing me from amateur to professional. My technique is changing, ways of defence are changing as there is no headgear in professional. So [it is] good to learn new things everyday," added Vijender.
Though Vijender had to give up representing India in the Olympics, boxing fans want him to attain success at the pro level, which has never been achieved by any boxer from India. Vijender received some good-luck messages from politicians, sportspersons and Bollywood stars in India, before his first bout.
