Big Punching Vijender Records Third Consecutive Pro Win

Manchester, Dec 19 (IANS) Indian boxing star Vijender Singh registered his third consecutive win in the professional arena with an easy technical knockout (TKO) victory over Bulgarian Samet Hyuseinov at the Manchester Arena here on Saturday.

The middleweight (75 kg) boxer from Haryana hardly faced any opposition from his stocky opponent, as he clinched victory just after the start of the second round.

Vijender thus continued his superb start to his professional career, winning all his three fights so far.

He had registered a TKO win over English boxer Sony Whiting on his debut before knocking out another British pugilist Dean Gillen in the opening round of his second fight.

But while his first two fights were four-round affairs involving fellow newcomers to the professional circuit, Saturday's match against the more experienced Samet was a six-round contest.

The 29-year-old Bulgarian, who now has 15 fights under his belt, suffered the eighth defeat of his career. He had won seven of his first 14 fights.

Walking into popular Bollywood song "Singh is King", Vijender walked into the ring to loud applause from the sizeable number of Indian fans present in the stands.

Vijender dominated the opening round, battering Samet with his left jabs and left-right combinations. The Bulgarian was a bit defensive, but his high guard was unable to keep out the Indian's blows.

The Indian wrapped up the contest in the opening minute of the second round, unleashing a barrage of powerful blows on his opponent which prompted the referee to stop the fight.

"His record was 14-7, but he is a good boxer. I was confident I could beat him and I did," Vijender said after the bout.

"I am happy for another knockout win and making it 3-0. The attacking strategy on Samet from the very first minute of the first round helped me a lot to win this game in the second round.

"For my third bout, I underwent a lot of physical hard work, and improved my technique, which helped me win today's game against an opponent who has the experience of playing 14 bouts," he added.

"I was confident of beating him. My win is a Christmas gift for all my Indian friends and fans and I am feeling happy that I ended the year on a winning note."

The 30-year-old former Asian Games champion asserted that he was looking forward to appear in a professional bout in India next year.

"It will be good if I get a fight in India. It will be good for Indian boxing," Vijender said.