20 November,2016 10:22 AM IST | | Ronald Chettiar
Vijender confident of defending his Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title against experienced Tanzanian boxer Francis Cheka in Delhi on December 17
India's Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh won his first WBO title by defeating Australian Kerry Hope in July. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
India's Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh won his first WBO title by defeating Australian Kerry Hope in July. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
A pumped up Vijender Singh on Saturday sounded confident of defending his WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title and beating former world champion and current Intercontinental Super Middleweight title-holder Francis Cheka.
The bout will be held on December 17 at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi. Cheka, the 34-year-old boxer from Tanzania is a veteran of 43 fights with 32 wins including 17 KOs.
Vijender, who won his first WBO title by defeating Australian Kerry Hope in a gruelling 10-round bout in July, is unbeaten in his last seven bouts, with six knockouts.
'I'm not less than others'
When asked how he sees his opponent considering the gap in experience between the two boxers, the 31-year-old, who was in the city to attend the Global Citizen Festival, said: "Cheka is a good and experienced boxer, but it's time to show I'm no less than anyone. Though he may have more experience than me, don't forget I'm an Olympic medallist," said Vijender, who has 27 rounds under his belt, as compared to Cheka's whopping 300.
"On a given day in the ring, we will find out who is the best and I'm confident it will be me," added Vijender, who trains in Manchester, England.
The boxer from Bhiwani, Haryana, who made it into top 10 of the WBO rankings with his last win against Hope, wants to settle for nothing less than the No 1 spot.
"Right now, I'm ranked 10th, but I want to be No 1 and a win against Cheka will help me achieve my goal," said the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist.
The World Championship and Commonwealth Games medallist, who took to professional boxing last year, said he will give everything to defend his title.
Better stance
"My stance is better with every training session. My punches are stronger than before and I'm undergoing high intensity training. It's a matter of defending my title this time, and I am going to leave no stone unturned to make sure the title stays with me."
