Vijender defeats Zulpikar Maimaitiali, wins WBO Asia Pacific, Oriental titles
Mumbai, 6th Aug: Vijender Singh outslugged his Chinese opponent Zulpikar Maimaitiali in a close bout to annex the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title here on Saturday. It was double delight for the fans as Vijender also snatched the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title from the Chinese, who is nine years younger to him. It was the 32-year-old Beijing Olympic bronze medallist’s ninth successive win in his professional career.
In front of a partisan crowd, Vijender gave an exhibition of his class during the slugfest, and his experience came in handy during 10 intense rounds. Zulpikar managed to squueze every ounce of his opponent’s energy. “I didn’t expect him to fight so well and last the distance,” Vijender said after the bout. Using his height and greater reach to good effect, Vijender had the better of exchanges with his straight ones and hooks landing flush on Zulpikar, whose blows didn’t have the desired effect. The Chinese southpaw had his guard up most of the times and with a crouched stance, was relying mostly on the uppercuts. However, he was guilty of trying to hit Vijender below the belt with as many as five low blows for which he was promptly warned by the referee. In the final round, Zulpikar landed an uppercut which left the Indian ace with a bloodied nose, but he did manage to hold his own in the end.
The bonhomie between the opponents was there to be seen as Zulpikar hugged Vijender and made him wear his cap.
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