London, Apr 30: Sparks flew thick and fast between Indian boxing sensation Vijender Singh and his French opponent Matiouze Royer during Friday’s official weigh-in at Stratford’s Copper Box Arena.
Vijender has promised another knockout show but the Indian boxing star’s unbeaten run will be put through a tough challenge when he squares off against the experienced Frenchman in a super middleweight contest here tomorrow.
Royer, 29, is Vijender’s most experienced opponent to date. Vijender has won all his four bouts via Technical Knockouts in under three rounds.
The tall pugilist from Bayonne in South West France got embroiled in a confrontation with Vijender after the pair had weighed in. Despite the massive showdown being little more than 24 hours away, Royer couldn’t wait to get his hands on the Indian.
Both men were forced away from each other by officials as tempers threatened to boil over. Royer is a veteran of 44 fights, claiming 3 of his 14 wins via knockout and is promising to spoil the Indian party.
“I know I’ve got the beating of Vijender already; I saw it in his eyes. He looked scared to me. There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll knock him out tomorrow night. There’s a lot of hype around this guy and I can’t wait to be the one to put him in his place,” said Royer.
He added: “I’m the more experienced fighter and I’ll show it tomorrow. There’s no way I’m letting this guy beat me; he’s only had four professional fights. He won’t have a reply for anything I throw at him and once I start landing it will be game over for India’s golden boy.”
Vijender looked in impressive condition as he hit the scales at 11 stone 13lbs while Royer came in at 11 stone 13lbs.
If Vijender carries on his impressive knockout streak, he may be rewarded with a mega-fight with British boxing star Amir Khan.
Khan, a two-time former world champion, has a glitterring career which includes 31 wins, three losses and 19 knockouts. He is expected to face one of the biggest challenges of his career when he steps up in weight to take on Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in what could be a career defining fight.
The Bolton hero has said that he would love to take on fellow Olympic star Vijender in a blockbuster showdown in India in the future.
“That’s good, I’m very interested in that fight. I’d accept the challenge 100 percent. Obviously there’s the difference in weight but I’m sure we could get that sorted somewhere down the line if I carry on progressing. It would be absolutely huge in India,” Vijender said.
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