Vijender cracks open tough nut Royers

London, April 30

Vijender Singh notched up his fifth successive knockout win by battering Frenchman Matiouze Royer here today.

Vijender won in the fifth round — his longest professional bout so far — of the six-round super middleweight contest. The 30-year-old was up against his most experienced rival till date in Royer, who came into the bout with an accumulated 250 rounds under his belt.

But the Indian did not seem perturbed and was once again looking to wrap it up early. Vijender spent the first round getting a measure of his overly cautious rival, who preferred to keep a shell guard and hardly attempted a hit at his taller opponent.

But that could not save him from a couple of telling body blows from Vijender, who was also impressive with his jabs.

The Frenchman was reluctant to get out of his shell even in the second round and Vijender took it upon himself to go on the offensive.

The Indian seemed set for an early finish when he had Royer cornered with a flurry of combination punches but the Frenchman did not give in despite being left with a bloodied face owing to a cut above the left eye.

Royer’s determination finally broke in the fifth round after an unrelenting Vijender brought him to his knees with an onslaught of body blows. The 29-year-old Frenchman could not continue because of his bloodied eye. Vijender will next be seen in action on May 13 in Bolton against a yet-to-be-decided opponent.

“I am happy with my fifth knockout win in a row. Facing an experienced boxer was not that easy for me but I stuck to my basics and tried some new punches,” said Vijender. “I am confident of doing well in all the future fights. My amateur experience is helping me but pro boxing is a totally different game.” — PTI