A Day before his pro boxing debut at Battleground Asia, at the weigh-in, India's Akhil Kumar had told mid-day that he was going to win "hands down in Round One". He had confidently said: "You will see how I knock him out in the first round itself."
India's Akhil Kumar lands a punch on Australia's Ty Gilchrist during the Battleground Asia bout on Saturday. Pic Suresh Karkera
A Day before his pro boxing debut at Battleground Asia, at the weigh-in, India's Akhil Kumar had told mid-day that he was going to win "hands down in Round One". He had confidently said: "You will see how I knock him out in the first round itself."
ADVERTISEMENT
But that didn't happen. Instead, Akhil took some time to settle into his fight against Australia's Ty Gilchrist on Saturday and even took some beating himself in the bargain.
The Indian suffered a cut above his left eye in the first round. In Round Two, Akhil got into some rhythm, and the duo exchanged a couple of good blows -- this time the Aussie was seen bleeding from behind his ear. Then, to the surprise of many, Akhil was declared the winner via Technical Knock Out after the Australian decided against continuing the fight before the start of the third round.
Akhil, a 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth gold medallist and 2008 Beijing Olympics quarter-finalist, eventually won the fight but he wasn't necessarily a "hands down winner" as he had promised a day earlier.
On the other hand, India's other Beijing Olympics quarter-finalist Jitender Kumar had a more convincing victory over Thailand's Thanet Likhitkampom. The Indian was clearly the more dominant fighter and emerged victorious via Technical Knock Out in Round Two of the six-round battle.
In the night's penultimate fight, India's Neeraj Goyat was made to work hard by Phillipines' Alan Tanada to retain his WBC Asia Welterweight belt. The Indian was stretched across the full 12-round duration with the fighters grinding it out till the end. At the final bell, both boxers raised their arms indicating they had won but the judges decided it was a 3-0 win in favour of the Indian.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
