Five for five: Vijender KOs Royer to win fifth straight bout
Indian pugilist Vijender Singh continued his golden run in the professional boxing ring by defeating his opponent Matiouze Royer of France by a technical knockout in his fifth bout at London. The Indian finished the bout in 1 minute and 12 seconds into the fifth round with a right-hand punch.
Vijender, who won his first four bouts with a knockout, started the fight against the more experienced Frenchman cautiously and took slight jabs in an attempt to gauge his opponent. The Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist landed a few punches, but Royer kept his guard up to see the time out in the first round.
The second round proved to be a totally different contest as the Indian came flying out of his blocks, registering punch after punch on his rival’s body. A right hook from Vijender caused an injury to Royer’s eye and with the blood gushing out, Royer spent the rest of the round running away from his rival, rather than attempting to punch him back in return.
Vijender continued the onslaught in the third round and went after Royer with his deadly right hooks. A three-punch combo to the face left the Frenchman dancing in the ring, but rather than going for the kill, the Indian took a step back and waited for his opportunity. Royer was not attacking and kept his guard up and remained on the defensive in an attempt to escape the power-packed punches from the Indian. The fourth round followed a similar pattern to the third, but Vijender finished off the competition in 1 minute and 12 seconds into the fifth round with a right-hand punch into Royer.
Vijender had defeated Sonny Whiting, Dean Gillen, Samet Hyuseinov and Alexander Horvath via knockouts in his earlier bouts.
"Royer is a good fighter and has boxed with some good ones in all these years. I discussed with the coaches and planned this fight so it is going right for me. Pro is totally different from amateur boxing. I am a little bit more experienced in pro boxing now so that is good," said Vijender after the win.