No opponent coming through, Vijender’s next bout postponed

TIL Desk Sports/ Indian boxing star Vijender Singh’s next bout scheduled on April 1 has been postponed as his promoters are struggling to find an opponent for him. “Right now we are not able to find a decent opponent for him because of his unbeaten record. Boxers in the region seem to be wary of facing him. He has become this dreaded guy, who nobody wants to face,” Vijender’s promoters IOS Boxing Promotions MD Neerav Tomar told.

“The fight stands postponed for the time being and we are looking at dates in the last week of May after the IPL. I am hopeful that we will be able to finalise an opponent soon enough,” he added. Vijender is unbeaten after eight bouts and is the reigning WBO Asia Pacific champion. In the April 1 fight night, the 31-year-old was originally scheduled to take on China’s WBO Oriental champion Zulpikar Maimaitiali. But that could not materialise after Maimaitiali backed out of the contest without specifying any reasons.

“Maimaitiali pulled out and it is just not working out at the moment with anybody else,” Tomar said. The Vijender-Zulpikar super middleweight contest was to be a double Asian title fight. The Indian’s WBO Asia-Pacific belt and the Chinese boxer’s WBO Oriental title were to be on the line in a winner-takes-all bout. Vijender is unbeaten in the circuit, having successfully defended his title in December last year against Tanzania’s Francis Cheka. The April 1 fight night was also supposed to mark the professional debut of Olympians — Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar. Tomar said the venue of the bout will continue to be Mumbai.