By Ajeyo Basu
New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh is confident of extending his winning spree in the professional arena as he gears up to face Hungary's Alexander Horvath at the Liverpool Arena on Saturday.
"It is showtime. I have worked very hard for this fight and I am confident of doing well tomorrow. I will give him a taste of my punching power," Vijender told IANS from Liverpool on phone.
"I need to continue my unbeaten record and it's important that I put on a commanding performance against Horvath and then next at Harrow to keep on course for my title shot and my homecoming," the former Asian champion said on Friday.
The Haryana pugilist has enjoyed a superb start to his sojurn in professional boxing after a successful career at the amateur level. The 30-year-old has won all his three fights in the middleweight (75kg) category so far.
In his debut bout, Vijender defeated English boxer Sony Whiting by technical knockout in the third round. In his second bout, Dean Gillen, also of England, did not even last for one full round as the Haryana boxer knocked him out in the last minute of the opening period. Bulgaria's Samet Hyuseinov went down in the second round of the third fight as Vijender registered another technical knockout.
"I don't want any of by bouts to be more than two rounds. If the fight is prolonged then you have to take a lot more punches. A lot of people have said that I will have problems while fighting if the bout lasts for more than a couple of rounds. But I dont care about them. My job is to keep winning and I focus on that," Vijender asserted.
But Horvath is expected to be a tougher opponent as he has a decent record of winning five out of his seven fights. He also has 31 rounds under his belt in professional boxing compared to just six for Vijender.
Vijender conceded that the Hungarian enjoys the edge as far as experience is concerned. But the Indian is banking on his punching power to cary him through.
"He has more experience and a good record, having won five fights. But I am not an inferior boxer. I will give my best. I have a lot of supporters and well-wishers back home. They pray for me, follow my bouts. I will fight for my fans in India," he stated.
"Horvath is a good solid opponent for, maybe he will give me a few new tests, he has done more rounds than me and has a bit more experience, but will that compete with the power that I have and when I start landing my shots I don't believe that he'll be standing around for too long."
Horvath had stated earlier this week that he is drinking snake's blood in order to prepare for the bout against Vijender. The Hungarian claimed that drinking the blood of vipers gives him extra stamina and will be an added advantage during his six-round contest against the Indian.
"I think he is scared. That is why he is giving such statements. Let him drink snake's blood, let him drink poison, who cares? My job is to do boxing and I will do my job," Vijender asserted.
Horvath, on the other hand, was no less confident about his own chances. "I don't think Vijender is a strong opponent in front of me. He has a record of 3 wins while my record is 5 wins so I have an edge over him. I am confident I will knock him out in the first or second round to register my 6th win," the Hungarian said.
"I have seen videos of his previous pro fights and my strategy is in place to give him a lesson of boxing. For Vijender I will be the toughest one when I see him in the ring tomorrow," the 20-year-old added.
(Ajeyo Basu can be contacted at ajeyo.b@ians.in)
