India’s Vijender Singh edged out China’s Zulpikar Maimaitiali in a close fight at Battleground Asia. With the win, the former Olympic medallist improved his pro-boxing record to 9-0 and also became the WBO Oriental Super Middle Weight Champion.
Vijender started the fight on the back foot but managed to get his momentum back after the third round. The southpaw advantage was put to good use by Zulpikar throughout the fight and the Chinese youngster even landed some big shots on Vijender.
A point from Zulpikar was deducted half-way through the fight for a low blow and this apparently proved to be a turning point. Zulpikar was seemingly dominating in the last rounds but the judges went with Vijender at the end of the day. The decision did seem questionable to some extent.
Meanwhile, Neeraj Goyat successfully defended his WBC Asia Pacific Welterweight championship after a 12-round contest against Allan Tanada. Akhil Kumar also picked up a win as he marked his pro debut with a TKO win over Ty Gilchrist of Australia. Jitender Kumar was another debutant that made a lasting impression by securing a TKO win.