In October last year, when Vijender Singh announced his decision to turn pro, the general feeling was that the 2008 Olympic medallist was looking for some easy money since his career as a serious pugilist was virtually over.

Today, just nine months later, the middleweight star is only a bout away from being crowned with the WBO Asia Pacific title. He is the favourite to win it on Saturday here against the veteran Australian boxer Kerry Hope. He took part in six pro bouts so far winning all of them with consummate ease.

All through his career, Vijender has been like the mythological phoenix, which rose from the ashes to start a new life. Vijender's boxing life is a saga of grit and determination. He refused to go down without a fight and in the end, invariably, had his hand raised by the referee in the ring.

In the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Vijender was an unknown junior far away from the bunch of favourites in the competition. The Haryana boy produced the most stunning result by reaching the final. It included a spectacular victory against top English boxer Neil Parkins in the semi-finals.

There was no looking back for Vijender thereafter. Everyone connected with boxing in India thought the 2008 Olympics would be about Akhil Kumar. But Vijender worked quietly and scripted history. No Indian man before or after him could win a boxing medal in the Olympics.

Between 2006 and 2014, Vijender spent his best years in the international arena. In middleweight, he was ranked No.1 in the world, while he made podium finishes in every major meet. A bronze in the World Championship in Milan 2009 was followed by a gold medal in the Asian Games next year in Guangzhou.

Two more medals came in the Commonwealth Games and two in the Asian championship. Vijender was truly the face of Indian boxing. In between came the bronze at Beijing with the historic win over Carlos Gongora in the quarter-final bout.

But then, Vijender's contribution to Indian boxing is far beyond an Olympic bronze medal. He has given the sport the up-market respectability that none of his predecessors could do. His career is full of style and statement and he is always comfortable to mingle with the society's top celebrities.

"Style comes naturally to me... I never tried hard to achieve it," Vijender once told The Telegraph. "It could never distract me from my original goal," he added.

Having come from a small village in Bhiwani, Vijender is never shy of saying how he learned his deadly hooks and awesome uppercuts by watching Sylvester Stallone in movie "Rocky". He is never tired of saying how he enjoyed a game show with Mallika Sherawat or the methods he employed while trying to protect Priyanka Chopra from the crowd during a rally in Pune.

A huge fan of Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson, the 30-year-old's biggest plus point is his fearless ability to venture into unknown territory. The kind of opposition he encountered when he turned pro would have discouraged any other established boxer, but Vijender remained unperturbed.

The move to stop Vijender from going over to England came from unexpected quarters. His coaches, on the sly, said it was a poor decision, while his employers, Haryana Police, tried to put roadblocks saying he did not take the required permission. Finally, when he overcame all the problems, rumour mill had been in overdrive saying his professional bouts were stage-managed. A fierce fighter in the ring, Vijender has an ice cool temper and a calm personality. When asked what he had to offer against the allegations, Vijender kept quiet for a few seconds and then sang a couple of lines of a popular Hindi song: "Kuch toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hain kehna."

On a serious note, Vijender then said: "I know how difficult the terrain is. You know, several top Indian boxers call me up and ask me to help them to turn professionals. I don't discourage them but tell them clearly about the uphill task. I have plunged into the unknown. England is an alien land for me. The language, the weather, the conditions... everything is a problem. In the evening, I sit alone and think about my family and friends, who are far away from me. But I have gone there to achieve something, to start a new phase in my life. I am India's first Olympic medal winner in boxing and now I want to be the first professional world champion from India. I am a born fighter," said Vijender.

Always aggressive and ready to tear into his opponent, the only time Vijender was on the back foot was when he and his wife were dragged into a drugs controversy in 2012. While the Punjab Police said they had definite information that Vijender consumed drugs, the boxer refused to provide his hair and blood samples for testing. By 2013, he was cleared of all charges by the Nada but Vijender's reputation certainly took a beating.

But Vijender refused to be bogged down and was back in Patiala after a few months to resume training. Knowing he was already done with amateur boxing, Vijender looked for new avenues. And when the call of pro boxing came, he did not hesitate.