Vijender Singh
Boxing is a sport that has always provoked passionate responses, attracting committed followers and outspoken critics in all sections of society. Objections to the spectacle of legal violence have been tempered by those who admire and are drawn to boxing as a supremely disciplined activity, who see it as a science or an art. But many still revile it as a dissolute and decadent sport. It is these tensions, between sport and art, aesthetics and perversion that have shaped boxing ups and downs.
The sport needs and demands continuous practice, confidence, patience, control, strength, endurance and the “out of the box thinking”. The more a boxer innovates his moves the more is the edge he gets over the opponent. But of course a few orthodox approach and moves always remain the same. May be they are inevitable.
And today we have a pool of ineffable talent with unmatchable zeal; energy and spirit in the boxing arena. A few “Out of the box” Boxers the world ever witnessed are:
Muhammad Ali, a charismatic, unparalleled and nicknamed “the greatest”, the heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali was the dominant heavyweight fighter in 1960 and 1970. Ali was exceptionally a fast fighter, cunning and swift, He won the heavyweight championship of the world three times over 15 years. E ‘born Cassius Clay, and under this name, won gold in 1960 Olympics in Rome. After claiming his first title in 1964, Clay joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He once quoted that:
“The man who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. I take a lot of risks with odds against me predictions, the draft, my religion, my name.”
Mike Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York. The Reign and the Unthinkable Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in heavyweight history (20 years, 144 days) when he knocked out the then WBC Champion Trevor Berbick. In late 1988, Mike Tyson parted ways with his trainer Kevin Rooney and lost his first match after that on February 1989. Tyson with his dedication and swift innovative moves pummeled all those who came into submission and on March 16, 1996, regained the heavyweight crown.
Erik Morales is current WBC Silver World Light Welterweight Champion and former five-time world champion at WBC and WBO. Morales also defeated 15 different world champions during the course of his career and has won 7 titles in five different weight classes.
Bernard Hopkins is known as the Executioner and is a former Undisputed World Middleweight Champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body. Hopkins have defended world middleweight title for a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweights of all time. He is the oldest boxer ever to win a world title, that too at age 46!
The boxing arena in recent times for India has been a happy hunting ground as Jitender and Vijender scripted sensational victories and Indian boxers’ showed a phenomenal haul of six gold medals in the Commonwealth Championships. Vijender Singh defeated Carlos Góngora of Ecuador in the quarterfinals of Beijing Olympics which guaranteed him a bronze medal – the first ever Olympic medal for an Indian boxer. He is credited for bringing back the sport of boxing into the limelight in India. Manoj Kumar Kaltagediya won a gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The experts believe that all boxing needs is an appealing personality of a champion and talented athlete, like a Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins and Vijender Singh who can bring the sport back to where it belongs in the lineup.
Tags: Bernard Hopkins, Boxers, Boxing, Erik Morales, Manoj Kumar Kaltagediya, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Sport, Vijender Singh
