Kaur Singh

Indian heavyweight boxer Kaur Singh had a celebrated career during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Singh won gold at the Asian Games, competed at the Olympics, and had an exhibition match against Muhammad Ali.

Singh was born in a small village in Punjab where he worked as a farmer before joining the Indian Army in 1971. He fought in the India-Pakistan war, with him being bestowed with the Sena Medal for bravery. Singh began to box while he was in the Army, taking up the sport in 1977, and winning the gold medal as a heavyweight in the senior national boxing championships in 1979. He was the national champion until 1983 and, during this time, Singh won the gold medal as a heavyweight at the 1982 Asian Games. Two years later he competed as a heavyweight at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Singh was victorious against his first opponent, Naasan Ajjoub of Syria, but then lost to the eventual gold medallist Henry Tillman. Singh retired from the sport shortly after the Olympics.

Arguably Singh’s most famous fight was when he faced Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match at Delhi’s National Stadium in January 1980. The four-round contest was watched by a crowd of more than 50,000 people.