Indian professional boxer Neeraj Goyat, who will return to boxing on Saturday night in Guadalajara, Mexico, is confident of his bout against a seasoned boxer from America, Jose Zepeda and said that he will not take his opponent lightly adding that their duel will decide who is a better boxer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Zepeda last fought in November 2022 against Regis Prograis, losing by knockout while Goyat was in the ring against Channarong Injampa in July last year, winning via knockout in Bangkok.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The three-time WBC Asia title winner, Goyat, turned professional in 2013 and since then has fought 22 bouts with a record of 17-3 with 7 knockouts (17-3-2 draws). He is the first Indian boxer to have made it to the WBC world rankings and has won the 'Honorary Boxer of the Year' by WBC Asia in 2017.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Goyat said he will not take his opponent easy as Zepeda, who is one of the stalwarts in the world of professional boxing, has a total 35 wins from his 40 fights, 27 of them being knockouts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Jose Zepeda lost his last fight in November 2022 while I registered a knockout win earlier in July. So, maybe it can impact him that I win my last fight via knockout but I will not take it easy. I will have the same impression that he played a good fight because anyone can be hit by the timing punch. So, I will play following his good fight that he won, not the one who played last," Goyat told from Mexico.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He was good, he is good but when I will fight with him in the ring, then only we will know who is good," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 31-year-old Indian while speaking about his fitness regime and weight management also elaborated on how he ensures that he is in top physical shape for fights.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"When I am in my village or city, I always do fitness training. Like doing 10-10 km running. After running, I use to swim for three to four kilometres. So, I remain physically fit during that time too. I have also installed the complete fitness setup in my farmhouse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"But when I have to do weight work and go to training camps, I am very careful about what I eat and drink during that time. I reduce the intake of carbs and the intake of protein is more," said Goyat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He further shared about the memorable fight of his career and said: "My most memorable fight was a 12-round fight for Asia Title in 2017 at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai. That fight was really good. There was extreme crowd support. When I was a bit tired in the eighth round, then I saw the home crowd support, and everyone was supporting and cheering for me, afterwards, I did not even know how easily I played the next four rounds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"If someone watches that fight of mine, then they will see that in the last 30 seconds of the 12th round, I was fighting very well to finish it off with a win," he signed off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He further shared about the memorable fight of his career and said: "My most memorable fight was a 12-round fight for Asia Title in 2017 at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai. That fight was really good. There was extreme crowd support. When I was a bit tired in the eighth round, then I saw the home crowd support, and everyone was supporting and cheering for me, afterwards, I did not even know how easily I played the next four rounds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n