China's Zulpikar Maimaitiali plays down Battleground Asia pressure against India boxer Vijender Singh, saying it's just a small part of his journey to a world title which is his ultimate goal
China's Zulpikar Maimaitiali (right) sweats it out with his trainer Julian Howell during a training session in Juhu yesterday. Pic/Pradeep Divar
There was no typical trash talk from Zulpikar Maimaitiali, China's No. 1 professional boxer, as he worked up a sweat at a city hotel yesterday in the build-up to tomorrow's Battleground Asia fight against India's Vijender Singh at the NSCI Dome in Worli.
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Instead, Zulpikar, 23, seemed calm and composed as he exchanged big punches with trainer Julian Howell for around half an hour after which he handled the media with corresponding ease and posed for photographs with anyone and everyone who stepped up next to him.
"There is no pressure on me as I take on Vijender. The pressure will come after that, when I face tougher boxers on my way to a world title. Vijender is just another fight to test where I stand in my quest for a world belt. The bigger challenge for me is to win a world title and defend it," Zulpikar said through an interpreter.
Vijender Singh
Both he and WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight champion Vijender, 31, are eight fights old on the pro circuit but the Indian has 30 rounds and a 100 per cent win record under his belt, while the Chinese lad has 24 rounds and one draw en route his WBO Oriental Super Middleweight belt going into the weekend's double belt battle. But it's a level playing field, Zulpikar's trainer Howell insisted.
"In pro boxing, eight fights is still the beginning of the journey. So both boxers are at the start of their pro run. I believe this is a level playing field except of course for the home advantage that Vijender will enjoy with the crowd behind him," Howell told mid-day.
Howell is a vital cog in Zulpikar's boxing wheel. He's from Manchester, which is also Vijender's training base. "Being British myself, I know everything about Vijender and his training, his technique, his workouts and even the sparring partners who he has been working with throughout. On the other hand, I assure you, Vijender does not know Zulpikar as well as he thinks he does. He'll be in for a surprise on Saturday," added Howell.
A third and equally crucial element here of the Zulpikar camp is the boxer's father, Maimaitiali, who was a boxer himself but struggled to find quality amateur and professional competition back home in the 1980s when pro boxing was almost unheard in China. The hardworking son is eager to do well for his father's sake.
"My dad worked hard throughout his life but hardly got any returns as a boxer. It is he who led me into boxing, so I owe him whatever success I have. I'll be proud to win this double title fight for him," said Zulpikar.
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