Vijender Singh hires Freddie Roach as new trainer as he prepares for U.S. debut

The three-time Olympian from India, Vijender Singh (10-0, 7 KOs), has officially moved his training camp to SoCal in order to work with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach as he prepares to make his U.S. debut.

Last November Singh, 33, inked a multi-year promotional deal with Top Rank, where he will have his outing under the deal on the undercard of Vasyl Lomachenko’s fight against Anthony Crolla on April 12. In this outing Singh is set to fight an 8-rounder against an opponent still to be determined.

“I am thrilled to start my training under such a legendary figure in world boxing,” Singh said on Wednesday. “It’s a great honor for me to train with Freddie, who has already trained so many world champion boxers.

”Professional boxing in the United States is of the highest level, and I believe Freddie is the right guy to bring the best out of me. I look forward to showing the boxing fans a new and improved Vijender Singh. I know that with Freddie’s guidance, I can become a world champion.”

Speaking on his new fighter, Roach says he believes that Singh has the dedication and talent to become a world champion at the super middleweight division where he competes. Moreover, his promoter Bob Arum says that he believes Singh can rise to stardom as a member of the most populous country in the world, and open the market up to boxing in India.

In all fairness, Arum had the same aspirations for Shiming Zou out of China just a few years back, but that didn’t work out quite as hoped. Maybe this will be different, maybe it won’t be. We’ll see. But Singh has been out of action since late 2017 and at his age in this sport, he’ll have to make a go of it quickly if he’s to have any significant impact.