Vijender Singh defeats Kerry Hope to clinch WBO Asia Pacific title

Vijender Singh

New Delhi: Bow to the Devil said the audiovisual clip seconds before India's boxing hero Vijender Singh made his grand entry from the tunnel at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on Saturday. And in the end, Vijender sure took a bow for a fine show in the ring against Kerry Hope en route to clinch the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title belt with a unanimous 98-92, 98-92, 100-90 (3-0) judges' decision after a grueling 10-rounder.

India's Vijender Singh (right) punches Australia's Kerry Hope during the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title match in New Delhi on Saturday. PIC/AFP

It was not a knockout win for the Indian like his previous six fights but a hard-fought one that saw him continuously working at Hope's face and body, often rattling the Australian off his feet.

The first round saw both boxers maintain their distance from each other with their respective left and right hands stretched out. But it was Vijender who landed the first blow - a right hand to Kerry's face.

The second round saw Vijender again land a couple of body blow before slipping in the ring just as he tried to go in for a combination. He got up and threw in one hard body blow to shake up the Aussie. The third round also belonged to Vijender as Kerry ducked for cover from a couple of quick jabs.

Round Four to Kerry
Round 4 however belonged to Kerry who came out quick and caught the Indian napping with a couple of short blows to the face. But that was all Kerry had in him as Vijender (30) constructively destroyed his 34-year-old opponent thereafter amid chants of "Vijender Vijender" and "Singh is King" from the vociferous home crowd.

Round 5 again belonged to the Indian thanks to a couple of strong body blows and jabs. Round 6 was unchartered territory for Vijender in professional boxing given the farthest he'd travelled for his previous knock out was five rounds against Hungarian Alexander Horvath in his fourth fight.

Super show
However, the Indian negotiated the unknown with calm and precision punches almost promising a knockout in every successive round.

But it wasn't to be. Kerry hung on for dear life and even withstood one of the punches of the match in the 10th round - a big hard body blow that saw the Aussie wobble briefly before he held onto the Indian to see the fight through to the bell.

Vijender though had achieved the unthinkable. A WBO belt around his waist, he flexed both biceps as he rode on trainer Lee Beard's shoulders out of the ring and into the world of professional glory yet again.