MANCHESTER, July 7: Confident of a seventh successive knockout win for Vijender Singh, his British trainer Lee Beard today said he has tweaked the Indian boxing star�s technique slightly as part of preparations for the eagerly-anticipated WBO Asia title bout against Australian Kerry Hope on July 16.
The WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Championship Title bout will be a 10-round contest between Vijender and Hope at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi.
As the fight draws closer, the intensity of Vijender�s training has been increased and his trainer is very impressed with the Indian�s dedication.
�He is training very hard, he has been sparring 12 rounds with 3 different guys and also putting the strength and condition to work hard also,� Beard said.
�We have of course been adjusting things to suit the southpaw opponent he is fighting in Kerry Hope, a very experienced operator and a fighter who has been involved in some big fights so him fighting Vijender in India won�t faze him.
�We have been working on various things which I believe will be effective against Hope, Vijender is very strong and punches extremely hard but we are not going to rely on that,� he added.
Beard said Vijender�s focus gives him the confidence that the July 16 contest would be a knockout triumph for the former Olympic bronze-medallist against Hope.
�We have been working on a number of things technically and I believe Vijender will knock out his opponent,� he said.
Commenting on Vijender�s opponent, Beard said, �Hope is a very experienced boxer but Vijender is very confident and self-assured. Vijender is going to display how smart he is as a fighter and then the power Vijender has will also come out and he will win in style.� � PTI
