Vijender makes impressive pro-debut with win over Whiting
Vijender Singh made a smashing pro-debut, winning over Britain's Sonny Whiting via a technical knockout. Whiting who had made tall claims of demolishing Singh, lost with a few seconds left in the third round of the four round bout; the refereree had to step in to stop the fight. The Indian had walked in to Punjabi music and showed great compusure during the match.
When a boxer turns professional and quits amateur boxing, it means that now he/she will take part in professional leagues and not other competitions and games which are for amateurs like Olympics. Professional boxers are trained vigorously and their matches last longer than those of amateurs. Therefore, they fetch a decent amount of salary as compared to amateurs.
The main difference between professional and amateur boxing are the rules of the game. Different rules imply different safety standards; therefore the safety precautions are also different. Amateur rules are same all around the world but in professional boxing, rules vary from country to country. Apart from these, there are several other differences in the equipment, fouls, jurisdiction and other things.
Professional boxing is banned in Cuba. Earlier, it was banned in Sweden between 1970 and 2007 and Norway in between 1981 and 2014.
Hailing from a small village in Kaluwas, Bhiwani district, Haryana, Vijender's first international event was the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. He fetched his first international bronze medal in 2006 Asian games. He won a bronze medal in 2008 Olympics and was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for his achievement. He went on to participate in many other international boxing events winning numerous medals.
Vijender Singh, who made boxing a household name in India, has abandoned his amateur boxing career to become a professional. This translates into bad news for the Indian team as he will not be able to represent India in Olympics as per rules. But this move will help him scale global heights in terms of his career, giving him an opportunity to grow further.
India has certainly lost one of its gems from its Olympic team and Indian boxing biggies are disappointed with that. But for Vijender, it's a new start for his global career. He said, "I'm excited to turn pro and am looking forward to the new chapter of my life. I want to train hard and perform for my country at the global level."
