Vijender Singh Pro Debut Lands On 10/10 Manchester Bill
Sep 10, 2015 • 10:35 AM ET
By Jake Donovan
Vijender Singh is finally ready to begin his pro career. The three-time Olympian from India has been added to the loaded October 10 bill at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
An opponent has yet to be announced for Singh, a highly touted middleweight prospect who signed with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions earlier this year. His pro debut comes on a card topped by local favorite Terry Flanagan in his first lightweight title defense versus dangerous mandatory challenger Diego Magdaleno.
“I’m so excited to be making my professional debut at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 10th October and to show that India is the new force in professional boxing,” Singh said. “Thanks to Francis (Warren) and everybody at Queensberry Promotions for the very warm welcome and I can’t wait for my fight to be televised on BoxNation.
“This means so much to me personally and to all my fans back home in India who have supported me all this way and will now follow me on my journey to become the first boxer in India to win a world professional title.”
Singh is leaving nothing to chance, setting up camp locally in Manchester under the watchful eye of leading trainer Lee Beard.
“Training now as a professional is totally different to my amateur regime and I’m loving the training with Lee Beard who has taught me so much in a short space of time,” Singh said. “We are working great together and now I want to put into practice what I have learnt. I’m still learning all the time and there will be plenty to come from me. I believe that this is going to be a very exciting time.”
The bout comes two weeks shy of Singh’s 30th birthday, waiting to turn pro following an extensive amateur run that included Olympic appearances in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He claimed Olympic Bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first-ever boxer from India to bring home a medal. He came within one fight of duplicating the feat during the 2012 London Olympics, but landed on the wrong end of a controversial decision to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Ateov in the quarterfinal round.
In his time spent between his last Olympics appearance and now, the camera-ready Singh emerged himself into modeling, reality television and Bollywood culture. There were talks of his attempting to make a fourth Olympic run, but instead opted to take his talents to the pro ranks.
“We’ve all worked very hard to get Vijender here and I’m delighted that his professional debut is now confirmed,” noted Warren. “The Manchester Arena show is a fantastic event for Vijender to make his debut on and it’s headlined with two big world title fights on BoxNation and one day that can be him.
“I’ve seen how hard he is working with his trainer Lee in the gym and I can’t wait for him to produce the goods on the night to show what I and the team have believed all along, that he has the potential to be a world class boxer.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
