Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Ready to fight Amir Khan any day any time... why doesn’t he fight me?

- Bihan Sengupta sportsdesk@hindustant­imes.com

Since clinching bronze at 2008 Beijing Olympics, Vijender Singh, the first Indian boxer to bag an Olympics medal, has come a long way. Vijender now holds the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweig­ht pro belt and will take on China’s Zulpikar Maimaitial­i in Mumbai on August 5. Maimaitial­i is WBO Asia Pacific super middleweig­ht champion and the two will fight as challenger and champion with both the title at stake. Vijender, who is training in UK, spoke to HT. Excerpts if you can block him there, his game is over. The are two titles at stake, so I really need to win this match. Winning is everything for me and to choose the right fight at the right time. I need to be careful. In my amateur career, I’ve won so many and lost so many but that doesn’t matter. That (branded as a fraud) can be his opinion but I just want to tell him that I’m ready to fight him anytime anywhere. If I can beat him, then what? If he wants to talk about me why

doesn’t he fight me? See, I just started. There are so many boys and people don’t know them and they’re trying to get media attention in this manner. I think first you should prove yourself, get an Olympics medal, an Asian Games medal, a Commonweal­th medal and then you talk about me. When I bagged the Olympics medal, I was 23-and-a-halfyears-old. Then you’re full of energy. The name, fame and everything’s there. What more do you want? But now I’ve a family, I have a kid; I’ve settled down and become more responsibl­e I feel. I’ve become more straight-forward with my decisions as well. I already have a number of offers! I’ve been got offers from Hollywood reality shows but I’m busy with my boxing and as my wife says, once my boxing career is over, then you can think of something in Bollywood.

Now I’ve a family, a kid; I’ve become more responsibl­e. I’ve become more straightfo­rward with my decisions.

I’ve fought many southpaws. A southpaw usually fights with the right hand only and if you can block him there, his game is over.

 ?? HT PHOTO ?? Vijender Singh.
HT PHOTO Vijender Singh.

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