London: Indian boxing sensation Vijender Singh will face Sonny Whiting on his highly anticipated professional debut on Saturday 10th October at the Manchester Arena, England.
Vijender Singh will start his career on the huge double world title card headlined by Terry Flanagan’s defence of his WBO World Lightweight title against Diego Magdaleno and Liam Smith facing John Thompson for the WBO World Super-Welterweight Championship, live and exclusive in the UK on TV channel BoxNation.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics Bronze Medallist begins his career in the hotly contested middleweight division and will do a four times three minute round bout as he makes the transition from amateur to professional codes.
Vijender Singh, 29, has taken himself away from his home in Bhiwani, a state in Haryana, and based himself in Manchester to train for this fight under renown coach Lee Beard and has been training alongside stable mates Jack Catterall, Adrian Gonzalez and Jimmy Kelly, who all feature in championship title action on the show.
Despite being India’s most successful amateur boxer in history and winning a multitude of titles, including Silver at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games; Bronze at the 2006 Asian Games, 2009 World Amateur Championships and 2010 Commonwealth Games; Gold at the 2010 Asian Games, and rated the world’s number one middleweight in 2009, Singh knows that he has to start again in the pros as he looks to make history and become his nation’s first ever pro world champion boxer.
“It is getting very close now to my professional debut now and I can’t wait for it,” Said Vijender Singh.
“I have trained very hard and diligently for this fight in Manchester with Lee Beard who has been important in refining my style from the amateur way of fighting into the professional sport which is totally different,”
“It is like I’m starting my boxing career all over again. Even though I accomplished so much as an amateur boxer, to begin my professional career I’ve had to start all over again with my training to prepare for my pro debut and it has been a very exciting time,”
“There has been a lot of changes and a lot of things we have been working on like the technical aspect of boxing, changing my diet and training schedule, the physical and mental preparation, it has all been important and I believe that I’m ready to fight,”
“I know that my opponent Sonny Whiting will not be an easy first fight. He has already had three fights so he’ll be prepared and I hear that he wants to defeat me in my first pro fight. He won’t beat me, I’m so focused and determined on what I have to do.”
His opponent Sonny Whiting, from Rochester in Kent, England, has a record of two wins from three fights with one knockout in the professional ranks is not impressed with Singh’s fame and has promised to cause a huge upset and defeat the Indian star.
Whiting, who trains under the world famous East London boxing figure Johnny Greaves, said, “I don’t care who is in front of me on the night, they’re going to get beat, plain and simple,”
“I hear that Singh is a massive superstar in India, well I’ll be looking to send a brutal message back to his home when I beat him,”
“He’s entering the world of the professionals now and it’s going to be hard for him, he might of done plenty in the amateurs but that will count for nothing now. I’ll make sure I give him a good welcome.”
Tickets for World War III, headlined by the WBO World Lightweight Championship Terry Flanagan v Diego Magdaleno and the Vacant WBO World Super-Welterweight Championship Liam Smith v John Thompson, plus a title packed undercard, are priced at £40, £75, £125, £200, £300 and £500* and available now from www.frankwarren.com, Manchester Arena on 0844 847 8000 and Eventim on www.eventim.co.uk and 0844 249 1000
The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise, live and exclusive in the UK on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546 and Talk Talk 415. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com or watch online at Livesport.tv or via iPhone, iPad or Android.
