Indian boxing sensation Vijender Singh will aim to defend his WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight championship title when he takes on former world champion Francis Cheka at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex here today.
The 30-year-old Haryana fighter secured his first WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in July this year against Australian Kerry Hope. Since then, he has been away from India and training hard in Manchester for his title defence fight.
Vijender had made an explosive start to his pro-career in the paid ranks by blowing away his first seven opponents in just 27 rounds.
The undefeated champion will now look for yet another win against Cheka, which will put him in the top ten of the WBO rankings.
Earlier, Vijender had said that the Tanzanian boxer's brilliant knockout record would not be playing any role in his mind and he would be focusing on giving his best.
"I don't care about records. Record does not matter to me but the win matters. Let the people say, I don't care. I will take it in the same way as I fought my previous bouts. I have achieved victories previously and will look to do the same this time around," the undefeated boxer had said.
Cheka, on the other hand, said that although it would be a good fight for him but not the big one, especially because he had fought in many big nations against big boxers.
"It is a good fight but it is not a big fight. I have competed in many big fights. I fought with American fighter Phil Williams- the World Champion and defeated him also. I fought in Roman and England. So, I have competed in big nations. This is just small fight for me," Cheka had said.
Cheka is Vijender's most experienced opponent to date and will prove a stern test for the big-hitting Indian boxer.
The Tanzanian boxer is a veteran of 43 fights with 32 wins including 17 knockouts and has tested himself against top super-middleweight talent including WBA World Champion Fedor Chudinov from Russia and WBC International Champion Matthew Mecklin from UK.
Cheka has racked up 300 gruelling rounds under his belt in the 16 years of his career in contrast to Vijender's 27 and has no fear fighting in India. He currently holds the Intercontinental Super Middleweight Championship title, which he won earlier this year in February against Geard Ajetovic of Serbia.
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