India’s most decorated Professional Boxer of all time, Vijender Singh tasted the first defeat of his Professional Boxing career last friday against 26 year old Artysh Lopsan from Russia at the “Battle on Ship” Fight Night promoted by IOS Boxing at Majestic Pride, Goa.
The contest was always expected to be difficult for Vijender, considering his long absence from the ring for over 15 months.
A comeback in the Pro circuit is always difficult, and this was compounded by the fact that the Russian opponent he had to face was almost a decade younger and 4 inches taller. Crucially, Artysh Lopsan had 2 recent competitive victories as recently as October & December 2020.
Read our exclusive Round by Round Boxing Analysis here
ROUND 1
Both boxers started the fight slow and were keen to gauge each others prowess before committing themselves.
In the 1st minute of the fight, Lopsan resorted to traditional jabsand Vijender simply maintained distance.
By the start of the 2nd minute, Vijender was getting into his usual groove and able to send some hard straight right’s through Lopsan’s defences rocking Lopsan with head shots on a couple of occasions. Cagey Round.
All 3 Judges scored the 1st Round in favour of Vijender Singh.
| Judge | Round Scoring | Vijender Singh (Red) | Artysh Lopsan (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Salvi | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 10 | 9 |
| Dr. Pradeep Lenka | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 10 | 9 |
| Suraj Thakur | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 10 | 9 |
ROUND 2
Artysh Lopsan started the 2nd round being the aggressor, with Vijender looking to stay back and work on the counters. As was the case in the 1st round, Vijender was again able to land some really lusty headshots with Right Hooks and Straight Punches.
Late into the 2nd minute of the round, Vijender started getting into his beast mode with combinations to Lopsan’s body and face.
Vijender landed a powerful right hook with 10 seconds to go in the round and Lopsan caught the punch on his chin and dropped on the canvas.
Referee Manoj Panwar gave Lopsan the mandatory 8 count for the Knockdown.
The crowd was rapturous and almost everyone present on the Majestic Pride Ship was up from their seats. Vijender had a hint of a smile and was now all charged up sensing an early victory. He waited for the referee to complete his 8 count for the knockdown, however the bell went immediately after the count and Vijender who had looked to capitalize, was left disappointed.
All 3 Judges scored the 2nd Round 10 – 8 in favour of Vijender Singh. The one Knockdown that Lopsan received in the round made the Judges accord the score of 10 – 8 instead of a 10- 9.
| Judge | Round Scoring | Vijender Singh (Red) | Artysh Lopsan (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Salvi | 10 -8, In favour of Vijender Singh | 20 | 17 |
| Dr. Pradeep Lenka | 10 -8, In favour of Vijender Singh | 20 | 17 |
| Suraj Thakur | 10 -8, In favour of Vijender Singh | 20 | 17 |
ROUND 3
As was expected, Vijender continued his offensive right from the bell. He was now moving really well and landing huge right hooks to Lopsan’s face and left upper cuts to the body almost at will.
The younger & taller Russian, did not seem to have any clue as to how to take the beast on.
By the 2nd minute, Vijender had landed a lot more hooks and straight punches. Any other day, Vijender would have felt that he had his opponent ready for a KO.
But the Russian did not seem to give up.
It was interesting to watch that every time Vijender landed a hard hook or upper cut , Lopsan was always scrambling to counter back with very sharp hooks to Vijender’s body. Those punches definitely would have hurt Vijender, who seemed to lose steam in the final minute of the round.
Lopsan, was now suddenly the aggressor and was throwing a flurry of combinations to Vijender’s body. The fight was starting to get even, but the round still went to Vijender.
All 3 Judges scored the round in favour of Vijender Singh
| Judge | Round Scoring | Vijender Singh (Red) | Artysh Lopsan (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Salvi | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 30 | 26 |
| Dr. Pradeep Lenka | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 30 | 26 |
| Suraj Thakur | 10 -9, In favour of Vijender Singh | 30 | 26 |
ROUND 4
The fortunes had started turning by the end of the 3rd round itself.
The younger Russian was getting confident and charging with a barrage of punches to Vijender’s body.
Vijender himself was landing some lusty hooks to the Russian’s chin.
At the halfway mark of the 4th Round, Vijender took a couple of strong hooks on his chin as well as the body. He seemed to have the wind knocked out of him. The Referee felt he had slipped and did not give a count for the knockdown.
Another Knockdown happened within 30 seconds, and this time the referee had no hesitation in giving Vijender the mandatory 8 count. Vijender was seen shaking his head, possibly trying to reassure himself of his chances.
Lopsan had suddenly realized that this fight was his for the taking.
He charged in again with combinations to the body and face. Vijender was starting to look unsure now and his movements were wobbly and tired. He seemed to be willing himself on to continue fighting.
Vijender has never had to take a single Knockdown in his entire Professional career lasting 6 years to the day. This was unchartered territory for the Indian Star.
The round was not over yet and with 30 seconds to go, Lopsan landed a solid left hook followed by a right to Vijender’s Chin. He was down for the 4th time in the round. The Referee gave yet another mandatory 8 Count in the round. Vijender was lucky to have survived the round.
All 3 judges gave the round 10 – 6 in favour of Lopsan. The scores reflected the 3 knockdowns, and the Judges mentally deducted 1 point for each Knockdown. 10 – 9 (-3)
| Judge | Round Scoring | Vijender Singh (Red) | Artysh Lopsan (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Salvi | 6 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 36 | 36 |
| Dr. Pradeep Lenka | 6 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 36 | 36 |
| Suraj Thakur | 6 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 36 | 36 |
ROUND 5
Things were not going according to plan and the audience which had turned out in large numbers were shocked at the turn of events in the last round.
Vijender started the 5th round bravely and in the first 45 seconds had connected multiple hooks and combinations to the Russian’s Body and face.
Lopsan seemed to be taking on every punch and still coming forward.
A couple of combinations by Lopsan at the end of the 1st minute seemed to have hurt Vijender. He dropped to his knees with a heavy nose bleed.
The Referee, Manoj Panwar again gave a count for the knockdown, and Vijender seemed to be signalling his corner to stop the fight.
His manager and promoter of the show, Neerav Tomar rushed forward onto the ring signalling their intent to stop the fight.
Lopsan couldn’t believe that he had actually won.
A few seconds back he was at the receiving end of some very hard punches from Vijender and all of a sudden he was now being declared the winner.
The round was stopped with 2 minutes to go.
| Judge | Round Scoring | Vijender Singh (Red) | Artysh Lopsan (Blue) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ajay Salvi | 8 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 44 | 46 |
| Dr. Pradeep Lenka | 8 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 44 | 46 |
| Suraj Thakur | 8 -10, In favour of Artysh Lopsan | 44 | 46 |
Artysh Lopsan was declared the winner with a TKO in the 5th Round.
