Vijender Singh's unbeaten run in professional boxing ends, lose to Artysh Lopsan in Goa

Before this match, Vijender Singh enjoyed a 12-game winning streak in the professional boxing career since starting his career in 2015.

Vijender Singh loses to Artysh Lopsan (Source: Twitter)

Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh on Friday (March 19) was handed his first defeat in professional boxing by Russian Artysh Lopsan. Vijender lost via technical knockout (TKO) in the fifth round of an eight-round bout on the rooftop of the Majestic Pride Casino Ship in Goa.

With this loss, Vijender's unbeaten-run in professional boxing came to an end. Before this match, the Olympic bronze medal winner pugilist enjoyed a 12-game winning streak in the professional boxing career since starting his career in 2015.

An eight-round duel, nicknamed 'Battle on Ship', turned out to be a one-sided affair. Vijender, the 35-year-old poster boy of Indian boxing, looked visibly tired after the third round. And in the fourth round, the Lopsan with a combination of left and right punches thrice sent the Indian on the mat.

The knockout punch was landed by Lopsan in round 5 as the referee deemed Vijender unfit to continue and handed the bout to Lopsan.

A day before the fight Vijender had said: "I'm excited to return to the ring and the weigh-in gives me confidence that I'm on the right path. I never think about my opponent and don't really care who I'm fighting. I'll surely go for the knockout and if not that, I'll make sure my every punch counts."

Notably, this was Vijender's first professional bout in more than 15 months, partly due to the Covid pandemic as all sporting activities had stopped. In his 12th bout held in Dubai in November 2019, the Haryana boxer had defeated Ghana's Charles Adamu.

Vijender looked bit rusty from the first round. With his better reach, 26-year-old Lopsan took advantage of his height and kept his rival at bay.

Competing for the first time outside Europe, that too in the warm and humid conditions in Goa, the Lopsan didn't show any sign of fatigue. He kept the pressure on despite receiving some hard punches on the body.

This was Lopsan's seventh pro bout while Vijender had played 12 before this one.

The Russian had won four bouts before this one while lost one and one had ended in a draw.