Fight Nights will take boxing to the common man: Vijender Singh

Injury may have prevented Vijender Singh from going to Cuba for training and participating in international competitions, but the Beijing Olympic bronze medal-winning pugilist is still keen on promoting the sport across the country. For this, he is even willing to forget the nose injury he suffered during the final of the Commonwealth Boxing Championship and come out to promote a unique concept called 'Fight Nights'.

Vijender believes a full house is a great motivation for any boxer and even attributed Indian's rich medal haul at the recent Commonwealth Boxing Championship in New Delhi to the support from the home crowd. However, he felt that the crowds in Delhi could have been much bigger. "I hope the upcoming Commonwealth Games in October (3-14) will witness a bigger turn-out," Vijender told MiD DAY.u00a0

The 'Fight Nights' concept, approved by the Indian Boxing Federation and conceptualised by its marketing arm Percept, comprises exhibition bouts held at public places like shopping malls, theatres, etc where international and Indian boxing stars will spar. The idea is to take the sport to the common man, something Vijender is keen to do.

"The 'Fight Nights' concept is a huge success internationally and I am convinced the initiative will make boxing a popular sport in India. Not many could afford to come to Beijing to watch me win the Olympic medal in 2008, but an initiative like this will take the sport to the aam janta. It will bring boxers closer to people. It will also help people in general to understand and appreciate the sport in a big way," said the 24-year-old.u00a0

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