Will win third pro bout in three rounds: Vijender

Manchester, Dec 18: Indian boxing star Vijender Singh continued his verbal duel with his Bulgarian opponent Samet Hyuseinov on Thursday ahead of his third professional bout which is scheduled to be held at the Manchester Arena here on Saturday evening.

The fast rising middleweight (75kg) star from Haryana has steamed past his first two professional opponents since turning pro after a highly decorated amateur career culminating in the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics Games.

The Bhiwani lad had dusted off English boxer Sonny Whiting in three rounds in October and then knocked out another Englishman in Dean Gillen inside one round in November.

With most British boxers reluctant to fight him after those comprehensively one-sided bouts, Bulgaria's Hyuseinov has been selected to challenge Vijender in his last fight of the year.

With a powerful right hand punch dubbed the 'Indian Hammer', Vijender doesn't see the fight going beyond three rounds against Hyuseinov.

"I feel in tremendous shape and ready to punch holes in Hyuseinov on Saturday night," Vijender was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday.

"It's another progression in my boxing career to move up to six rounds, but I really don't feel I'll need them against Hyuseinov.

"While it's good to get rounds and experience under my belt I want excitement and knockouts, the rounds will come as we move up into title fights, right now I want to take opponents out as quickly as I can, three rounds, maybe, against Hyuseinov," he added.

"He won't be in for the distance against me that's for sure, once I start lining him up with the jabs and get my distance and then start dropping big hard rights in, he won't be lasting too long."

However, Hyuseinov says he'll teach Vijender a painful lesson for dismissing him as an easy job and disrespecting him.

"For all his insults, I will make him pay.

"He is just a two-fight kid, two fights and he's talking like he's a world champion. This man has been disrespectful to me and questioned my fighting ability by saying that he will knockout me out before six rounds, what a joke, for that I will make sure that I hurt him," Hyuseinov said.

"Nobody will talk to me as if I am a journeyman and I will not let a raw novice boxer, who in my eyes is just a play actor boxer and should stick to acting in films, say he will knock me out," he added.

"Watch on Saturday, he says he doesn't need six rounds to knock me out, but I will hit him for six."