“So far everything is alright. Totally confident. Totally.”
Vijender Singh flew out of his training base in Manchester, reached New Delhi on Sunday morning and spent the day fulfilling his media commitments. The next day he had a press conference to announce yet another brand association. On Wednesday noon he flew to Mumbai, the location of his fight, and within a few hours, made his way for a live training session in front of the media, alongside his trainer Lee Beard. There is, as they say, no rest for the wicked.
At the basement of Powerhouse Gym in Juhu, cameras and journalists awaited his arrival for what would be a brief chance for the lenses to capture how he is preparing for the double title fight on Saturday against China’s top professional boxer Zulpikar Maimaitiali – a bout that has been billed as the “Battleground Asia.” The posters were in place, the photographers and cameramen were in position, a few fans present to take photos and perhaps sneak a selfie in towards the end, as Vijender entered in his training attire, just a few minutes late. With a wave and a loud “Hi guys”, he managed to convey his enthusiasm to the gathered audience – it’s all become a part of his pre-fight routine now.
For the next 30 minutes though, he shuts off the outside world – other than the occasional smile at the camera. From the moment he takes the skipping rope in his hand to begin the warm up, to landing those powerful right hooks on a punching bag that stands at his height and a few minutes of sparring with his trainer, till the gloves finally come off – Vijender is in the zone. The flash of the cameras, the blaring music are a part of a professional boxer’s routine and from close quarters, you get to see how attuned he has become to drown that out.
Of course, this little work out session is still a part of promoting the fight, but with his schedule as crazy it is, it is crucial nonetheless.
“You have to do it, man,” Vijender says about the hectic routine in the week before the fight, as he sits down to talk. “This is my show, and I have to do the best, selling it. I landed in India on Sunday, and I have been talking to the media constantly, because it’s important. I train everyday, I have to focus but these things are necessary. But Friday evening I will switch off everything else and stay in a good place till the fight.”
All about the mental preparation
Beard, his trainer from Manchester, who was constantly in his ears for the duration of the session, believes it’s all about the mental aspect now. His role is to keep Vijender on track for the fight, without letting this “crazy schedule” affect him.
“All the hard work is done now,” Beard says. “It’s just about keeping his mind straight, help him relax, stay in a good frame of mind. His body is in great shape, it’s all about his mental preparation now.”
So all those chats during the sparring session was strictly about the fight ahead – sorting out the technique, talking tactics? Not quite.
“We discussed a little bit of technique, but I didn’t go too much into it. It becomes confusing, this close to the fight. He knows the game plan, he has been sparring in the gym with the opponent’s technique in mind. The next time we’ll talk technique is on the day of the fight,” he adds.
Vijender, who “is totally confident” about the winning the fight when the gathered media questions him, is a little more measured in his response in an earlier one-on-one interaction.
Talking to The Field over the phone, he said he knows better than to make any rash predictions about the result and explains how Zulpikar is different from his previous, more-experienced opponents Kerry Hope and Francis Cheka.
“Well he already has a title that he is bringing to the fight, that’s the difference. I don’t think he’s the toughest opponent I have fought till date,” Vijender told The Field.
“Of course, in sports anything can happen, so I don’t want to say too many big words now. But in terms of his challenge, I can’t say good things about him. I don’t want to say what aspect of his game is good. Why would I praise him before the fight? Of course I don’t want to give him any confidence before the fight. I will meet him in the ring, I will fight to win. That’s it.”
As the sweat rolled down his arms in that humid gym basement, as the gloves came off, as Vijender’s trainer tells him that’s enough for the day, he switches back on to the media-mode. But those preceding 30 minutes were a glimpse into the one-track mind that has brought the boy from Bhiwani thus far. Come Saturday, that’s the side of Vijender Singh that will need to be switched on.