Indian hotshot Vijender Singh will face unbeaten Dean Gillen in his big London debut on Friday 30th October at the Harrow Leisure Centre.
Middleweight Singh made an immediate impact in his professional debut this month when he destroyed Sonny Whiting in three rounds at the Manchester Arena.
The fight was televised live in India on Sony Six with an estimated 20m viewers tuning in – arguably the largest ever audience for a boxer’s professional debut.
Singh, 29, who will be celebrating his birthday a day before the second fight, will now face Nottingham’s Gillen over four rounds as he looks to claim the record of his first unbeaten pro fighter.
Gillen made his pro debut in May this year with a points win over Shaun White and followed that up in September with a points win over Lewis Van Poetsch.
The fight between Singh and Gillen also represents a Battle of the Badges, with Singh a Deputy Superintendent of Police in his native Haryana and Gillen a firefighter serving in Nottingham.
As an amateur, Gillen’s highlight was to win the 2013 World Police and Fire Fighter Games in Belfast where he knocked out all of his opponents to claim the Gold medal and now he aims to extinguish Singh’s fire in the ring.
Gillen, 33, said, “I’ve watched him in the Olympics and in his pro-debut, he’s a world class kid and I can’t wait to get in there and put him to the test,”
“He’s an Olympian and that speaks for itself, he’s a hero in his country and he’s idolised by millions of people, but at some point he’ll have to get beat and that could well be his second fight against me,”
“I’m certainly no journeyman and I’m not going in to make up numbers, I’m here to fight and win. I know the odds are stacked against me, but when you’re facing life risking tasks through your job then fighting someone like Singh is a walk in the park,”
“I will be coming for him. I’ve got the heart of a lion and a serious will to win. I’ve got a strong jab and the reach to take advantage of him, backed up with a solid chin and a real desire and with nothing to lose, I think I’m going to be a really dangerous opponent for Singh,”
“Add to the fact I’ve never lost to a Police boxer in the amateurs and with stacks of pride and honour on the line, I refuse to lose.”
Singh is in serious training in Manchester with coach Lee Beard as he aims to beat Gillen and stay on track to achieve his history making dream to become India’s first ever world professional boxing champion.
“I can’t wait for this fight against Gillen, he’s talking the fight and it looks like he will bring me a challenge in my second fight,” Said Singh.
“From what I have seen of him he looks like a good opponent who will push me and I hope he does because then the better I will fight, I rise to my opponent and it brings the best out in me,”
“He’s got an unbeaten record, albeit two fights, and it’s a big motivator for me to claim his first loss, if I can stop him, like against Whiting, then that will be another good win for me,”
“While I was pleased with my pro-debut there is still plenty that I need to work on in my defence and offence and I’ve been training hard with Lee to correct things and improve, it’s a continual process and it will happen fight by fight,”
“Being a fireman, he’ll be used to dealing with fire and coping with heat but this is one fire he won’t be putting out and it will be an entertaining fight for the fans in my first pro fight in the capital.”
A quality packed show is headlined by WBO European Super-Middleweight Champion Jamie Cox who defends his title for the first time. The undercard features red hot light-heavyweight Tom Baker from Chingford in the chief-supporting contest against Margate’s Jack Morris for the Vacant Southern Area Light-Heavyweight Championship.
The undercard features a host of top talents: Bushey light-heavyweight Miles Shinkwin, Islington light-middleweight Georgie Kean vs Nottingham’s Nathan Macintosh; West Ham light-middleweight Sam McNess vs Kevin McCauley; Ilford light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde vs Derby’s Elvis Dube; Jez Smith, younger brother of super-featherweight star Mitchell takes on Newark’s Fonz Alexander over four rounds at middleweight; Acton flyweight Prince Patel faces Gateshead Gary Reeve; Chingford lightweight Archie Sharp tackles Hereford’s Dean Evans; plus the professional debut of West Ham light-welterweight Ben Smith who faces Nuneaton’s Kristian Laight and also Sidcup’s light-welterweight D.P Carr who takes on Trowbridge’s Dan Carr.
Remaining tickets are available from Ticketmaster on www.ticketmaster.co.uk and 0844 844 0444 and Frank Warren Box Office on 01992 550 888.
The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise the show live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546 and Talk Talk 415. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com or watch online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android.
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