New Delhi: Indian Boxer Vijendra Singh clinched his 7th victory by beating Kerry Hope in the WBO Asia-Pacific Super Middleweight title at the Thyagraj Sports Complex in New Delhi on Saturday.
Vijender Singh after winning the match dedicated his maiden title to heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who passed away on June 3 this year.
“I want to dedicate my win to Muhammad Ali, who passed away last month. He was a legend of sports,” Vijender said after his win in the 10-round contest.
“I would also like to thank my countrymen for their support.”
“Thank you India. We made it possible. I did not expect so many people would turn up for my fight,” he said. “Thanks to all the Bollywood stars, politicians, youth who came to watch my fight. The fight has been a huge hit.”
Singh beat Kerry Hope (98-92, 98-92, 100-90) to win the super middleweight belt.
Vijender dominated in the first two rounds and made Hope to go into defensive mode, however, Kerry with his resilient knock in the consecutive rounds, was constantly evading Singh’s penetrative punches.
The final round saw Singh leading with huge advantage came down heavily on Hope.
The exciting event saw the presence of several prominent politicians among other celebrities who came to witness the bout.
Union Sports Minster Vijay Goel, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla and BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain were present for the encounter.
Among the Bollywood glitterati, Randeep Singh Hooda, Neha Dhupia, Ranvijay and Roadies fame Raghu and Rajiv were spotted at the star studded event.
With ANI inputs