Vijender records sixth straight KO win in pro boxing

Indian boxing star Vijender Singh's rampaging winning streak remained intact as he carved out a sixth successive knockout victory by battering Poland's Andrzej Soldra on Friday.

Fighting the first eight-round contest of his fledgling pro career, Vijender completed yet another dominating win barely a minute into the third round.

The 30-year-old Indian will next be seen in action on his home turf in Delhi where he will fight for the WBO Asia title belt against a yet-to-be-finalised opponent.

"When I entered the ring, the coach told me to be patient and he came to me and I could play my game. Every fight is important for me and I don't think there is any relaxation. By winning first eight round fight, my confidence level has really gone up and this is a step forward heading towards the title fight," Vijender said after the bout.

Soldra, who had tasted defeat only thrice in 16 bouts before Friday and had promised a horror show for Vijender, was in for a thrashing himself as the Indian overpowered him in clinical fashion.

"The coach told me not to hurry and I did that and got the result I wanted," said Vijender.

The experience of 81 rounds, which Soldra brought into the bout, hardly made a difference to the strapping six-footer from Haryana, who went about dismantling the Polish with consummate ease.

In fact, he had sent Soldra crashing on the mat in the first round itself but the he hung in there for some more thrashing before his resistance fell apart in the third round.

Vijender's powerful right hand did all the damage as Soldra struggled to even stand on his feet in the third round.

Soldra tried to keep a tight guard to avoid the assault but that was hardly going to be enough given the sheer power of Vijender's jabs and uppercuts.

The referee came to Soldra's rescue when Vijender was quite literally toying with him on the ropes and the contest was stopped midway into the third round.

"He has got a lot of power and his technique is good and that is brilliant," said Vijender's trainer Lee Beard.

Image: Vijender Singh celebrates after the bout

Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images