Sikhi, Boxing and the Beard Ban | Inder Singh Bassi

In this episode I have the pleasure to talk to Inder  Singh Bassi, who is a 24 year old professional boxer signed to MTK  Global, a six-time London champion, a three-time National finalist and a  Haringey gold medallist as an amateur boxer.

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We start with his  family coming to England in the 1960s from India, how his father and  uncles fell in love with Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali) and wanted to learn  more. We discuss his uncle's expertise in wrestling, their family  desire to see a kesdhari Sikh boxer and how this led to the  establishment and running of a kids boxing, wrestling and kabaddi club  at the gurdwara.

We discuss the relationship between Inder’s Sikhi  and his boxing career, the amateur boxing beard rule and how, as a case  study for Lions MMA, Inder was able to help have the rule overturned.

We  talk about how representation in sport matters, how Inder got into  boxing, what his training schedule is like and his fighting style. We  then move onto how Inder keeps himself in the right frame of mind when  approaching a fight and dealing with a loss. We then find out about the  glass ceilings Inder has had to face and smash through during this  boxing career.

To conclude, we round up the conversation discussing role models, food and what the future might hold for Inder Singh Bassi.

Two quotes in particular from the podcast that stick out:

“I’m  not here just to make numbers. There’s some fighters who are here just  to make numbers and they’ll box bums and they’ll have 10 - 12 fights and  win them all. But it's not the same as boxing people who are there to  win.”

“From a young age, when I was 16, I had a Bhagat Singh phone  case. It’s always been Bhagat Singh, it’s not because of who he was, it  was someone who done something at such a young age and left a legacy,  good or bad. That’s what I want to do too. I know I’m not a freedom  fighter obviously and I’m not here to fight a war against no government  but in my field I want to leave a legacy.”