London, June 29: India's Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh turned professional as he signed a lucrative deal here on Monday.

Vijender signed a multi-year promotional agreement with promoters Queensberry Promotions that will see the talented middleweight fight a minimum of six times in the first year.

"I'm excited to turn pro and looking forward to the new chapter of my life. I want to train hard and perform for my country at the global level," Vijender said in a release.

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Vijender won silver at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games, bronze at the 2006 Asian Games, 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 World Amateur Championships and 2010 Commonwealth Games; gold at the 2010 Asian Games and was rated the world's number one middleweight in 2009.

The 29-year-old from Bhiwani will be based in Manchester under well known trainer Lee Beard.

Vijender Singh will train alongside a top stable of boxers with Beard currently guiding the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) International and European Light Welterweight Champion Jack Catterall, former Commonwealth Light Middleweight Champion Jamie Cox, and top up-and-coming prospects Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Costello and Raza Hamza.

IANS