China’s Zulpikar stands in way of Vijender’s second title

TIL Desk Sports/ After a successful defence of his WBO Asia Pacific title, Indian boxing star Vijender Singh will be in contention for a second belt when he takes on China’s WBO Oriental Super Middleweight champion Zulpikar Maimaitiali on April 1 in Mumbai.

The double Asian Title Fight card will also feature former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Akhil Kumar and former Asian Championships bronze-medallist Jitender Kumar. Their opponents, however, are yet to be finalised.

The 31-year-old Vijender, who overwhelmed Tanzania’s Francis Cheka in his title defence in December last year, is undefeated in the circuit so far and is currently training in Manchester under the tutelage of his British trainer Lee Beard.

The April 1 clash against Maimaitiali will be his third pro fight in the country and should he win the contest, Vijender would become the holder of two titles as both the boxers’ belts would be on the line. Vijender’s previous two India bouts have been held in Delhi.