Vijender Singh: Rolling with Punches

August 20, 2008 can certainly be considered as a turning point in the history of Indian boxing. A bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics – the first ever by an Indian boxer – put India on the boxing map of the world. This wasn’t all, there was more; another bronze, another first, this time at the 2009 AIBA World Boxing Championship in Milan. Vijender Singh brought the glory back to Indian Boxing and contributed greatly towards the growth and popularity of boxing in India.

Early life

Born in Bhiwani, Haryana to Mahipal Singh Beniwal, a bus driver, Vijender’s life was no joyride. Vijender’s father worked really hard to support his family. In 1990, Raj Kumar Sangwan received the Arjuna Award for boxing thus increasing the craze for the sport. Inspired by him, Vijender and his brother, Manoj decided to take up boxing as a full time career. However, in 1998 Manoj got selected in the Indian Army and provided Vijender with all the monetary help he needed at that time to pursue boxing.

Foray into Boxing

Vijender started training at the Bhiwani Boxing Club where Jagdish Singh, a former National level boxer, recognised the potential in Vijender. In order to bear the training expenses, Vijender worked several odd jobs. He encountered  success in the year 1997 when he won his first silver medal at sub-junior level championship and went on to bag his first gold medal at the 2000 Nationals. In 2003, he became the All India Youth Boxing Champion.

The Afro-Asian games, in 2003 proved to be the turning point in Vijender’s career. Despite being a junior Boxer, he not only managed a selection in the Indian team but also won a silver medal in the events. This brought him recognition at the National and International stage, marking the commencement of an unstoppable journey.

Having won medals in different competitions at the National level, Vijender was picked to train and compete at several International level competitions. However, the journey was not smooth. After a bout of victory, Vijender lost to his rival Mustafa Karagollu of Turkey by a score of 20-25 in the welterweight category in the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2006 Commonwealth Games, Vijender lost in the finals but managed to clinch a bronze medal by defeating Neil Perkins of England. Vijender went on to participate in the 2006 Asian games held at Doha, where he secured a bronze medal after losing to a strong contender Bhakhtiyar Artayev of Kazakhstan only to defeat him few years later in the final bout of President’s Cup Boxing Tournament in 2008. After the win, a confident Vijender commented, “I just want to say that Indian boxers are no longer a weak lot; all are doing well at the international level. Our boxing graph is going up all the time and the rest of the world is now scared to face Indian boxers.”

Beijing Olympics & Rise to Stardom

In preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Vijender underwent extensive training at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala. He defeated Badou Jack of Gambia 13–2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, he defeated Angkhan Chomphuphuang of Thailand 13–3 to reach the Middleweight Boxing Quarterfinals. He beat southpaw Carlos Góngora of Ecuador 9–4 in the quarterfinals on 20 August 2008 which guaranteed him a medal, the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer. His winning streak was halted by Cuban boxer Emilio Correa in the semi finals. Nonetheless, Vijender won a Bronze medal, the first ever for an Indian Boxer. For his commendable achievements, Vijender was felicitated with the the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award – India’s highest Sports honour, along with Sushil Kumar and MC Mary Kom. After missing out on the Padma Shri the same year, Vijender took a job with the Haryana Police department for Rs 14,000 per month. Vijender participated in the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships. He won a Bronze Medal after losing to Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in the semi-final of the 75 kg Middleweight category, by 7 points to 3. In the same year, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced Vijender as the top-ranked boxer in its annual middleweight category list with 2800 points.

The following year, Vijender was awarded the Padma Shri for outstanding contribution to Indian sports. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Vijender was beaten by England’s Anthony Ogogo in the semi-finals and secured a bronze medal. A month later at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, he beat two-time Uzbekistan’s world champion Abbos Atoev 7-0 in the final. In the 2012 London Olympics, he lost to Atoev 13-17 in the quarter-final, thus missing out on the bronze medal. After the event, Vijender had expressed his desire to move up a weight category to 81 kg class.

Vijender’s style of technical boxing with hooks and uppercuts has often been compared to Hollywood action superstar Sylvester Stallone’s character from the famous ‘Rocky’ series. Vijender cites Stallone as one of his primary influences along with Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Vijender’s fitness regime comprises of weight training, running and cardio exercises. He is also big on yoga and meditation. “You need to soften up a boxer and if you don’t know when to land the killer blow, you miss an opportunity,” claims the boxer.

Professional Career

In 2015, Vijender signed a multi-year promotional agreement with Queensberry Promotions with Francis Warren as his Promoter. Vijender has had a successful inning ever since he turned pro. Vijender has beaten Sonny Whiting, Dean Gillen and Hyuseinov in to record his three straight wins in pro boxing. Vijender is gearing up for his fourth professional bout against the slightly more experienced Hungarian boxer Alexander Horvath on March 12th in Liverpool.

Besides being a boxer , Vijender has also been hailed as a pin-up boy in the mainstream media. He has done a hindi movie, ‘Fugly’ along with various ramp walks, modelling and ad campaigns. His commercial brand value is close to Rs 1.5 crore in endorsements and is managed by Percept India, a celebrity management firm.

Vijender’s remarkable accomplishments have truly paved the way for future generations and given Indian pugilists the impetus and resolve of making it big at the global arena.

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Manny Pacquiao People’s Champ

In 2001, an entirely different kind of fighter came through the doors of Freddie Roach’s gym in Hollywood, California. His name was Manny Pacquiao, a 122-pound left-handed featherweight fighter, who had had some success in his native Philippines but was looking for a trainer who could elevate his game to another level. Roach immediately went to mitt work with Pacquiao, and from the first punch he knew something was different about this fighter. Roach made it his goal to transform Pacquiao into a multi-dimensional beast in the ring and thus gave the world of boxing a force to reckon with.

“He walked in; I had no idea who he was, I had never heard of him before,”. “His manager asked if I could work the mitts with him; they had heard I caught punches well. After one round, I went over to my people and said, ‘Wow. This kid can fight.’”

Early Life

Filipino world boxing champion Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, to Dionesia Dapidran-Pacquiao and Rosalio Pacquiao in Kibawe, Philippines. When he was a teenager, Pacquiao left his family and boarded a ship to Manila, in hopes of training as a boxer and launching a career in the sport.

Manny Pacquiao ages 12 in General Santos, Philippines

“Manny ran away from home after his father ate his dog and he lived on the street, where he bought doughnuts at a doughnut store and then sold each one for a nickel more to survive,” as revealed by his coach Freddie Roach. “He slept in a cardboard box. He fought his way through all this, and look at the man he is today.“

The Young Boxer

Pacquiao often speaks of his debt to his maternal uncle, Sardo Mejia, who introduced him to boxing after he dropped out of school. According to his autobiography, he describes watching Mike Tyson’s shocking defeat to James “Buster” Douglas in 1990 on television with his uncle as an experience that “changed [his] life forever.” With improvised equipment, Manny soon began showing his potential. He showed so much promise that within a year of starting training, his uncle entered him into an amateur match in their town square. Within minutes upon entering the ring, Manny conquered his opponent using his classic brawling style of boxing. He won 100.00 PHP (the Philippine currency equivalent of $2.00 USD) and marking the start of his career as a pugilist.

Not long after, in January of 1995, his goals gained some traction; when he stepped into the ring for his first professional bout, against Edmund Ignacio. Pacquiao won the fight in four rounds, in a unanimous decision. The victory propelled him on a successful boxing run that would encompass the better part of two decades.

One Mexican Legend After Another

Pacquiao’s first fight in the featherweight division was against the crowd favorite, Marco Antonio Barrera in a spectacular fight. Manny won by technical knockout, the only time Barrera was knocked out in his entire career. This was also the first of two losses Barrera suffered at the hands of Pacquiao as they met four years later to slug it out in the ring again.

Barrera wasn’t the only high-profile boxer Pacquiao met in a grudge match. Manny went up against Erik Morales in the super featherweight division, earning his third career loss. Undeterred, Pacquiao faced Erik Morales two more times. In both instances, the Filipino boxer showed the Mexican pugilist who the better fighter was by defeating Morales twice in a row via TKO and KO respectively. Other Mexican fighters fell to Pacquiao, one after the other, including Hector Velasquez, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis. The Pacman dealt with all of them in spectacular fashion. By then, he had also gained the nickname “The Mexecutioner” for defeating a quick succession of boxers hailing from Mexico.

Climbing to the Top of the Boxing World

On June 28, 2008, Pacquiao defeated David Díaz in lightweight division via ninth-round knockout and won the WBC Lightweight title. With the victory, Pacquiao emerged as the first and only Filipino and Asian to become a five-division world champion, a fighter who won world titles in five different weight divisions. This victory earned him the title of “The people’s champ” in Philippines.

Ten years after his win against Sasakul, in December 2008, Pacquiao was named victor of an eight-round, non-title welterweight bout against famed American boxer Oscar De La Hoya. The fight generated nearly $70 million from viewers of pay-per-view—the broadcasting format for most of Pacquiao’s fights since the early 2000s.

Pacquiao went on to fight United Kingdom boxing star Ricky Hatton in May 2009, in a light welterweight division bout in Las Vegas. Pacquiao won the fight by a knockout in the second round, taking The Ring’s junior welterweight championship. Later that year, in November, he beat Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto in a 12-round bout, for the World Boxing Organization welterweight title—an honor he defended in 2010, when he outlasted Ghanaian boxer Joshua Clottey in a 12-round fight.

Back-to-Back Losses                 

On June 9, 2012, Pacquiao lost a 12-round bout with American boxer Timothy Bradley, in a 115-113 decision by three judges. The fight was an incredible upset for boxing fans, as Pacquiao had won seven rounds to Bradley’s five. The fight, broadcast on pay-per-view, was watched by thousands of fans worldwide. The judges’ decision spurred wide speculation, as both critics and fans argued that Pacquiao should have been named the victor.

That December, Pacquiao suffered another difficult defeat when he was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round of their welterweight bout in Las Vegas. Pacquiao explained his loss by saying “I just got hit by a punch I didn’t see,” according to the New York Daily News. By this time, many of Manny’s detractors were telling him to retire and that he was too old to keep on fighting.

Climbing Back to the Top

Undeterred, Manny Pacquiao started training once again and within a year took on another opponent in a welterweight matchup with Brandon Rios, a young Mexican boxer who many would say learned a neat boxing lesson from a true champion.

After his impressive victory over Rios, Manny Pacquiao got the chance to redeem himself as he was once again pitted against Timothy Bradley. This time, Pacquiao showed Bradley he was the rightful owner of the WBO welterweight title.

Pacquiao VS Mayweather

In February 2015, it was announced that Pacquiao would fight undefeated American Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2. Billed the “Fight of the Century,” the long-anticipated bout between the era’s two signature boxers brought in a record purse via gate receipts and pay-per-view buys. Despite fighting with an injured right shoulder, Pacquiao gamely went after Mayweather but was unable to land many effective punches. He lost a unanimous decision to drop his record to 57-6-2.

Besides boxing, Pacquiao has participated in basketball, business, acting, music recording and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines.

Pacquiao’s impeccable footwork, speed and quick jabs have kept boxing fans on their feet. And his endearing smile, charm and chiseled physique have only helped to boost his public appeal.

In 2003, he was voted the Philippines’ Person of the Year over President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was also named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America, among various other honors.
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Fight Yoga : A Powerful and Forceful Workout Regimen

Fight yoga is a term used to describe a more vigorous and fitness-based approach to yoga.  This form of yoga consists of a series of intense flowing movements with an emphasis on strength and flexibility. Fight yoga emerged from the need to make yoga a more rigorous workout than a mere lifestyle alternate.

It is relatively different from the traditional form of yoga; involving the gentle stretching and meditation process as the exercises here are more concentrated and require a great deal of  stamina. In Fight Yoga, there is very little or almost no stopping between yoga poses which makes it a powerful and forceful workout regimen.

Combat Sports and Yoga

There is a good reason why fighters like Diego Sanchez do yoga on a daily basis. The benefit of doing yoga consistently greatly contributes to a fighter’s physical abilities.

For instance, it improves one’s flexibility and balance. For mixed martial artists, these benefits are invaluable. The more limber the legs and hips are, the faster a fighter will be able to do a variety of different kicks. Stiff limbs slow down the strikes greatly.

The same concept applies for grappling. Getting take-downs and defending them requires an enormous degree of flexibility. In addition to a take-down game, flexibility is a huge plus in a submission game.

Yoga is highly advantageous for strengthening the core. Having a strong core is beneficial to any sport, especially combat sports where many of the techniques one uses derive their power directly from the core of the body. Core stability is also crucial for injury prevention.

Fight Yoga Asanas

Few famous Asanas in Fight Yoga are:

1. Warrior Pose or Virabhadrasana; consists of some invigorating sequence of standing poses, useful in strengthening the legs and core by working on forward and back bending.

2. Triangle Pose or Trikonasana requires the body to be stretched in such a way that a triangle-like shape is formed. It helps open the hips, groins, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest, and spine.

3. Pigeon Pose or Mayurasana is a good option for shedding extra fats saturated in stomach region.

4. Plough Pose or Halasana is an inverted yoga posture that stretches the spine and shoulders while revitalising the nervous system.

5. Bridge Pose or Setu Bandhasana is a rejuvenating backbend technique that opens up the chest and keeps the spine flexible.

6. Fish Pose or Matsyasana is a back-bending yoga posture that opens the chest, throat, and abdomen; mostly used as a counter-pose to Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) because it neutralizes pressure on the neck and spine.

7. Chair Pose or Utkatasana increases strength, balance and stability.

Benefits

Fight Yoga is composed of rigorous cardiovascular exercises designed to build strength and flexibility, improve one’s ability to focus, release tension, increase stamina, tone the body, improve the Basal metabolic rate(BMR) and remove toxins from the body through sweat. As mentioned earlier, it also serves as a great training programme for athletes and aids in injury prevention and rehabilitation. It improves one’s weight loss rate and blood circulation, creating a sense of well-being and reduced stress.

Expectations

Fight Yoga comprises some extremely intense, demanding and profound exercises. It is the ultimate sweat generating and muscle-building painstaking form of workout. Fight Yoga exercises are not for the mild, calm or even moderate type of students. It is certainly not for those coming from a beginner’s point. If you are willing to take up Fight Yoga then be prepared to sweat it out.

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