Indonesian wants to put Vijender in his place
new delhi — Star Indian boxer Vijender Singh will defend his WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title against former world champion Francis Cheka on December 17 at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex here.
Cheka, the current Intercontinental Super Middleweight champion, is expected to provide the toughest test of Vijender’s professional career. He is Vijender’s most experienced opponent till date.
Cheka won the Intercontinental Super Middleweight title in February this year against Geard Ajetovic of Serbia.
The 34-year-old from Tanzania is a veteran of 43 fights with 32 wins, 17 of them knockouts. He has faced some of the top supermiddleweight boxers in the world, including WBA World Champion Fedor Chudinov of Russia and WBC International Champion Matthew Mecklin of the UK.
He has racked up 300 rounds under his belt over the 16 years he has spent in the professional arena. In contrast, Vijender has so far fought only 27 rounds in his fledgling professional career.
Vijender made an explosive start to his professional career by blowing away his first seven opponents.
The Indian claimed the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title at the Thyagaraj Stadium in July this year by defeating Australian Kerry Hope. The win over Hope also put Vijender Singh in the top 10 of the WBO rankings.
“I am ready to give this kid a lesson in boxing. I will come to India. No turning back. No surrender. I have heard a lot about this Indian boxer and there’s a lot of hype around him, I just can’t wait to be the one to put him in his place,” Cheka said in a statement. —