"I will try to finish the fight inside 45 seconds as Chinese products don't last long."
These were the words of Vijender Singh ahead of his double title bout against Zulpikar Maimaitiali.
Sure, it was a tad bit of trash talking — something that is extremely normal in the world of professional boxing. But, it was no pipe dream either. For, the India boxing trailblazer has earned the tag of 'Knockout King', courtesy of a belligerent start in the more fancied version of the sport.
And so, the 31-year-old Vijender was expected to make short work of China's Maimaitiali, all of 23, when the two traded punches to unify their WBO Asia-Pacific and WBO Oriental Super Middleweight titles at the National Sports Club of India here on Saturday night.
Golly! It went against the script. Yes, Vijender eclipsed his more aggressive counterpart in the first six of the 10-round contest, but he was subjugated in the next four. The local star ran out of gas, had almost nothing left in the tank in the last round, yet he escaped with all three judges narrowly ruling the bout in his favour.
Asked if he expected the bout to all the way, Vijender answered straight from the shoulder. "The fight was really good, I didn't expect (it will go all the way)," the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist — having a bruised left eye and his bloodied nose mended — said at the post-match press conference.
"It took 10 rounds, kai baar Chinese maal jyada lamba chal jaata hai (sometimes Chinese products last long)," he added, with a chuckle. "It was an amazing fight, a lot of fun. The fight was tough, a lot of blood oozed out, but finally, the victory was ours."
Hoping that his triumph will help better the unfriendly political relations between India and China, Vijender said: "To India-China friendship (I dedicate my title), because the tension on the border is not good. I see on social media, news, it keeps getting on and on. I give this title to people, peace, it's all about friendship. Hindi-Chini bhai bhai."
Despite a win far from impressive, the Bhiwani lad was upbeat of becoming a world champion in the future. "Just pray for me, one day I will be a world champion," he says.
But, anyone who has followed Vijender's professional career right from the outset would know he has struggled against opponents with southpaw stance — lefty pugilists in colloquial language. The fights against Kerry Hope and Maimaitiali serve as a testimony to it.
So, if Vijender is to challenge for a world title and ever claim one, he's got to find a way to deal with right-foot-forward boxers, for, many of the best ones in the Super Middleweight division — including Gilberto Ramirez (WBO World champion, 35-0-0), James DeGale (IBF World champion, 23-1-1) and Andre Dirrell (interim IBF World champion, 26-2-0) among the others — are all southpaws.
Whether or not that happens, only time will tell.
