PANAJI: Indian boxing superstar Vijender Singh’s 12-match winning juggernaut came to an end as 26-year-old Artysh Lopsan from Russia clinched victory by a technical knock-out in the fifth round on high-octane fight #battleonship on Friday night in Goa.
From the start, Lopsan seemed determined and took apt advantage of his height and agility against his Indian counterpart.
Though Vijender was looking good on few occasions, it was the fourth round where Lopsan had the better of him and the former couldn’t capitalise.
Before the match, Vijender, who was making a comeback after over an year’s gap, had an envious record of 12 consecutive victories.
“My strategy worked against Vijender, he is a good fighter. I want to thank everyone who arranged this bout, it was a wonderful experience. I’m glad to become the first one to break the unbeaten record of Vijender Singh,” elated Lopsan said after the fight.
Olympic bronze medallist Vijender promised to bounce back, saying: “Winning and losing is part of the game. It was just not my day. I always believe in working hard and I’m sure I’ll make a strong comeback to the ring soon.”
Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Neeraj Goyat knocked out Sandeep Kumar in the welterweight category.
Other results: Pralhad Panda beats Mohammed Shamim (Unanimous decision):39-36,39-36,39-37
Umesh Chavan beats Mathiyalagan Dhiravidamani (Unanimous decision):40-35,40-35,40-35
Rinky Inder Kishore beat Ramandeep Kaur (Unanimous decision):60-54,60-54,59-55
Digari Mahesh beat Kuldeep Dhanda (Unanimous decision) 60-54,60-54,60-54
Sabari J beats Amey Nitin (Unanimous decision):60-54,60-54,60-54
Kartik Satish Kumar beat Jayapal Jagandhan (Unanimous decision): 40-36,39-36,40-36
Dharmender Grewal beat Ashish Ahlawat (Unanimous decision):40-36,39-36,40-36.
