A knockout worth the wait

Professional boxing was always a draw for Siddharth Varma — the technique, tattoos and chunky metal on the belt. He was equally fascinated by the bad boys, particularly Mike Tyson after he bit a chunk off Evander Holyfield’s ear during the infamous fight in 1997. Even though his exposure was restricted to the tube back then, all Varma wanted was to be a part of that action some day. It took him two decades, and fights both inside and outside the ring to get there.

The reigning super welter weight Indian Boxing Council (IBC) national champion with a 5-0 professional record has a tiny smile on his face these days.

Growing up in Pune, Varma’s daily chores included escorting younger brother Anand to the karate class. When he spotted a boxing gym along the way, he started leaving home earlier than usual to watch the burly boys go through the grind. The day Anand came home with a district-level gold medal, Varma decided he too wanted a shot at glory. Soon enough, he began boxing lessons under coach Lokendra Painoli at the Maharana Pratap gym at Swargate. It quickly became an obsession.

“ Boxing ke chakkar main school bhi chhod diya (I quit school in the eighth grade for boxing),” he says. Among Varma’s prized possessions was a poster of American world heavyweight champion Michael Moorer that was respectfully placed above the bed. While most boxers aspired for an Olympic gold, Varma dreamt of landing a professional bout, a phenomenon that has taken off in the country ever since Vijender Singh turned pro in 2015. In fact, Varma’s bout in July last year was the precursor to the main event of the evening — Vijender’s debut at home against Australian Kerry Hope.

Like many others, Varma began as an amateur boxer, fighting local competitions. He started winning medals at the State-level under coach TJ Naik at the Maharashtra Institute of Games & Sports. To prepare for the next level, Varma interacted with seasoned, international boxers at the Army Sports Institute.

“ Bahut kuchh seekhne ko mila, lekin bahut pita tha main ring mein (I learnt a lot but took a good beating in the ring),” he smiles.

But by no means was his life that of a budding sportsperson. While his joint family was supportive of his passion, he was expected to lend a hand at home. His day began early, at 3am when the milk tanker arrived at the family-run mithai shop. He cleaned the place, attended training, came back to deliver fresh paneer to customers before catching up on some rest in the afternoon, and heading out for the evening session. In between he worked odd jobs at a screen-printing workshop.

“I considered all of that a good workout,” Varma recalls.

His hard work paid off. The big break at the national level came at the AK Mishra All India Senior Men’s Boxing Championship, which features some of the best talents. Not only did Varma win consecutive golds in 2003 and 2004, he also came back with the ‘Best boxer’ prize both times. He followed it up with a silver at the senior nationals in 2005, and was called to the India camp, from which he walked out after experiencing factionalism.

Back home, Varma realised he couldn’t bank on his family to fund the sport and took a job with Central Railway, which brought him to Mumbai in 2006. Few opportunities came his way in the following years, since the Railways team was packed with Olympians.

The World Series Boxing (WSB) gave Varma a new lease of life in 2011.

Gold at the Super Cup in Mumbai, right before the trials for the Mumbai Fighters team, did wonders for his confidence and he made the cut. It was the closest he had ever come to a professional boxing stint.

Though the team didn’t get far, Varma made a mark with his flamboyant showboating in the ring. He also met veteran American coach Joe Clough, credited with training the likes of Sugar Ray Seales, Leo Randolph and Holyfield among others, and who is in Varma’s corner at the IBC fights. “He’s more about the boxer than himself — a thorough professional. He says it’s just his job, ” Varma says.

Once the Fighters pulled out of WSB, Varma was stranded again. Any opportunity was good at this point, so he took to Mixed Martial Arts though it was unknown territory. “That was a very different experience — like a street fight with technique. I was lucky to land that one blow which took out my first opponent. But the second guy was fast and was trained in wushu. I took a pounding, broke a finger and was forced into submission,” he says.

He tried to seek comfort in sport movies such as Mary Kom and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , but left midway, realising they weren’t the release he was looking for. Instead, he decided to train harder each time he felt low. At times he ran around Shivaji Park in the middle of the night, and trained till he was on the verge of passing out. “ Dard bhi bolta tha ki mujhe baksh de — itna dard saha hai maine (Even pain pleaded to be spared — that’s the kind of pain I’ve dealt with),” he says.

During the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015, Varma put up a post on social media about the potential of Indian boxers. It was spotted by Brigadier PK Muralidharan Raja, who had launched IBC in July, and Varma was signed on. It was the moment the boxer had been waiting for all his life. Ever since, he’s been on a roll with an undefeated record in five bouts so far — his latest victim being Jaganathan, whom he beat via a technical knockout in Imphal.

“What I take with me to the fights is this madness and a lifelong desire,” says Varma.

Each time Varma steps out of the ring with the belt around his waist, his body maybe hurting. But for the first time in years, he is healing on the inside.

Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based writer

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