Less than three weeks before his fight, national pro boxer TheenaThayalan is not wasting any available moment in ensuring that he is truly ready to enter the ring to face India’s SiddarthVerma at the Axiata Arena in the Bukit Jalil Sports City on 15 July 2018.
The match between TheenaThayalan and SiddarthVerma in the welterweight category is one of the undercard fights in the clash between Manny Pacquiao and 12 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight championship title.
Although it has not yet been a year since he turned pro, Theena, who is training at the Vladimir Boxing Gym in Sunway, is confident of a victory. With five wins in as many fights so far, the 20-year-old boxer wants to continue his winning streak.
âImmediately after receiving the invitation in March to be featured as an undercard boxer in the Pacquiao â Matthysse match-up, I started preparations and overall training,â Theena said.
“For this month, my training is more intensive and more focused on technique. I am less focused on punching and more on finding strategic chances against my opponent,” he added. Indeed, Theena and his coaches have been observing and analysing the boxing style of his opponent to find the best formula to achieve a win.
“One of my training mates has fought him (Siddarth), so we have knowledge of his moves. To me, Siddarth is very quick on the forward attack, so my coaches are focusing on honing my technique to repel these moves,” Theena elaborated.
The Semenyih-born boxer is closely supervised by his two foreign coaches, IlgarAliev and LixerPaingco in his preparation for the match with Siddarth. Aliev is an Uzbek-born trainer who oversees training sessions and monitors Theenaâs current form while LixerPaingco of the Philippines is in charge of further improving his technique and stamina.
“It’s been almost a month since Theena commenced his intensive training and we can see the improvement. We emphasise agility, technique and mental preparedness,â said Aliev.
“To me, Siddarth is not that strong, because one of our boxers has fought him and won, so it is not impossible for Theena to win the match through a KO,” Aliev added.
Age and experience may seem to be determining factors in his match with Siddarth, but Theena remains optimistic that he has his own advantages. With all his preparations, he is definitely not planning to go home without a victory. “The pressure is certainly there, especially as I will be fighting in front of home fans. I hope my experience competing in Taiwan, Russia, Uzbekistan and other countries will help me when Iâm in the ring for the upcoming match,” Theena further added.
In addition to TheenaThayalan, two other national boxers who will also be seeing action are Muhd FarkhanMohdHaron, who will be fighting Tanzanian boxer AbdallahPaziwapazi in the light heavyweight category and Aiman Abu Bakar who will face Indonesia’s JundullahMuhd Fauzan in the featherweight category.
