How water helped Vijender Singh lose 2 kgs for bout in Goa

Vijender Singh. Pic/PTI

Goa is a place for good food and wine but not for India boxer Vijender Singh. Having checked in to Goa's capital city here two days ago for his fight atop the Majestic Pride Casino ship on Friday against Russian Artysh Lopsan, the Indian hasn't had a bite of food.

"When I checked my weight here on arrival it was 78.5 kg and I cannot be anything above 76.2 kg for this fight. I had to lose over two kilos in two days, so I've not been eating anything and only drinking water," Vijender told mid-day at the official weigh-in on Wednesday.

Tough process

While losing a bit of weight before a fight is common for most boxers, in the case of professional boxing it's a lot tougher. Vijender explained how: "In amateur boxing, boxers are constantly training and know exactly what weight category they are fighting under well in advance. But in pro boxing, fights are planned in sudden, short timeframes and so the weight loss has to happen at the last minute only. Then, due to the COVID-19 situation, training has not been easy too."

"Losing a kilogram is fine but when you have to lose more than two kilos in two days, it's tough. And if I'm even a few grams above my weight, the opponent can demand a penalty fee from my promoter to go on with the fight and we will have to pay it because obviously we cannot cancel the fight. This fee can be anything from USD 5,000 or USD 10,000 or upwards."

Goal accomplished

Vijender eventually managed to achieve his goal and tipped the scales at 75.5 kg at the weigh-in, a good three kilograms lighter than when he entered Goa two
days ago.