Kerry Hope: On July 16, there will be 1.25 billion disappointed fans of Vijender Singh

The Olympic bronze medallist, who turned pro last year, has been unbeaten in six bouts so far, winning all of them via knockouts. Hope though, has the experience of 30 bouts, out of which he has won 23, with two of them being knockouts. The Welsh-born Hope, who emigrated to Australia, was a WBC middleweight champion. He had moved a division to super middleweight to take on the Indian. The former European champion has been training hard in Wales, and he has promised to defeat Vijender in front of his own fans.

“He knows it and I know it. I saw the fear in his eyes at the press conference. He knows that he’s not in my league. He’s been fighting trash and still seems like an amateur fighter so I am going to show him what professional boxing is all about.

When asked about the support for Vijender from the home fans, Hope downplayed the effect of the crowd and said that in sport “an athlete needs experience, not crowd support”.

“I know there will be an army of support for Singh, but they can’t help him or fight for him. It’ll be just Vijender, the referee and me in the ring when the bell goes,” Hope said.

“India is one of the greatest sporting nations on earth but the country will be in a state of mourning when Singh is knocked out by me,” he added, reported PTI. 

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