The Olympic-bronze medallist extended the olive branch to Zulpikar Maimaitiali after defeating the Chinese champ in the much-anticipated double-title pro bout in Mumbai on Saturday.
The win saw the 31-year-old Indian pugilist retain not just his WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight title but snatch the super middleweight belt from his Chinese opponent.
But the newly-crowned champ buried the hatchet after the fight, dedicating his victory to the “India-China friendship” and calling for an end to the distrust that has flared up over a border disagreement.
“I want to give back this belt to Zulpikar. I hope for peace in the border and the message is about peace. That is most important,” Singh was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff at a remote but strategically important Himalayan plateau near where Tibet, India and Bhutan meet.
The plateau gives China access to the so-called “chicken neck” — a thin strip of land connecting India’s northeastern states with the rest of the country.
The row has festered for more than a month as India and China refuse to back down in the distant but key territory.
Mistrust between the giant neighbours goes back centuries with the pair having fought a brief war in 1962 in India’s border state of Arunachal Pradesh.
On Saturday, Singh extended his winning streak in the professional arena to nine bouts, while it was the first defeat of Maimaitiali’s professional career.
Known for his ability to knockout opponents, the Uighur boxer from China was undefeated in his previous nine professional bouts. He had won eight of those – several of them by knockouts – while one bout was undecided.
Both boxers were slightly tentative in an evenly matched opening round. Maimaitiali tried to go on the offensive at the start of the second round but Singh did well to negate his attacks. The Indian used his superior height to land several punches over the course of the round.
The next couple of rounds were evenly matched as well although the Chinese boxer found it hard to counter Singh’s height advantage.
Maimaitiali tried very hard, but found it tough to deal with Singh’s defence and counter-punches.
In his attempt to force the advantage, Maimaitiali hit Singh below the belt on a few occasions, one of which saw the contest being stopped for several seconds in the ninth round.
Maimaitiali tried to force the pace in the final round in an attempt to regain lost ground, but Singh managed to evade his attacks and hold on for the win.
