Vijender Singh's title defence of his WBO Asia Pacific super-middleweight belt ended the same way he won it. On Saturday night, he was hoisted on the shoulders of his trainer Lee Beard, an Indian flag draped around his shoulders and the gaudy belt around his waist. The song 'Singh is King' was barely audible once again over the screams of an adoring crowd at New Delhi's Thyagaraj Stadium.
But that was the extent of the similarity. If the title had been won over ten rounds against Kerry Hope in July, it was retained a lot faster. The end came early, just under two minutes into the third round of what was scheduled to be a ten-round contest against Tanzania's Francis Cheka.
An overhead right hook followed by a left uppercut had Cheka wobbling. Another right over the Tanzanian's hopeful left jab had him stumbling into a desperate clinch. His gumshield hung loosely - a few teeth too it appeared from afar. Vijender would say his opponent tried to bite him and the referee separated the two fighters. Cheka didn't heed the call to box again though. His record fell to 32-10-2, a small price to pay for the blessed safety of his corner.
Pro boxing is a brutal sport; this fight did little to change that perception. While the fight seemingly ended early, Vijender delivered the coup-de-grace a lot later than he could have. Even as he progressed to 8-0 (7K.Os), he seemingly wanted to prove a point through his opponent.
Cheka is considered a gatekeeper of the super-middleweight division. He is an experienced fighter, someone to prove your worth against. He had gone the distance against Matthew Macklin and Paul Smith, who would go on to be World title contenders. He had been stopped by Fedor Chudinov and Robert Stieglitz, who would go on to hold world titles themselves. But none of those fighters had fought the African as early in their career as Vijender had. And none had stopped him as early into a contest as the Indian did.
Vijender would chide the media for hyping his opponent. "You led yourself to believe him (Cheka). That he would teach me a lesson," he said only half seriously after the bout. But if the press played along in the buildup to the bout, it was Cheka who danced to an unwelcome tune in the fight itself.
In hindsight, perhaps he should have chosen a more appropriate song. Cheka had bounded in even as Wiz Khalifa spat out 'knock knock, you gonna get shell shocked' over the speakers.
Vijender politely did the knocking in the first round. Aware of the power in Vijender's right hand, Cheka came in with his guard up. 'Rookie mistake,' Vijender may have thought as he unwound a right to the body, under the left side. Punishment received, lesson learned - Cheka dropped his arm. And of course Vijender responded with a head-snapping right. Like a batsman practicing his stroke post dismissal, Cheka belatedly got the arm up.
The procedure repeated itself as the bell rang for round two. Left hook swished over low right arm to be stopped by Cheka's cheek. The African tried to hold, grabbing at Vijender's left arm. The Indian had learned a few dirty tricks of his own however. He stuck out his elbow, which happened to be at the level at the Tanzanian's neck.
When the referee restarted the action, Cheka to his credit tried to advance again. A feint from Vijender drew a left jab, aimed low - somewhere at the chest. Vijender had already shifted his weight back, waited for Cheka's blow to move air several inches away and then unloaded with his own right. Instead of following up though, he held his arms behind his back and smiled.The fight would mercifully end soon after.
Bigger tests will surely come Vijender's way. His promoter Francis Warren expects him to fight for Commonwealth title, his manager Neerav Tomar is setting his sights on an Oriental belt. For now though these seem very plausible targets. On Saturday, Vijender well and truely made his point.