Neeraj Goyat (born 11 November 1991) is an Indian boxer and mixed martial artist.[1][2][3][4][5][6] He is the first Indian boxer to have made it to WBC world rankings. Goyat won the award of WBC Asia 'Honorary Boxer of the Year' in 2017.[7][8][9][10][11] He became the first person to defeat Chinese boxer Xu Can in China in 2014,[12][13] who was a former Regular World Boxing Association world champion. Neeraj was in a car accident in 2019, but has recovered and competed since.[14]
Goyat was born in Begumpur village in Karnal, Haryana. Neeraj Goyat did his schooling till 9th standard from the Parth Public School in Haryana. He started boxing in 2006 in the Army Sports Institute and studied for 10th standard there. In the first senior national tournament held in 2017, he won the platinum medal. In the year 2014, Neeraj Goyat won the gold medal in the Youth National Tournament.
Neeraj got interested in boxing because the physique and the personality of sportsmen really appealed to him. He started with gymnastics, but then when he saw boxers training around him he was really impressed with their level of fitness and longevity and that's how he shifted to boxing he got selected in the Army sports institute[17] in the year 2001, and he got very good training from the coaches there, learning a lot from the senior cyclists in the institute.[citation needed]
He aims at becoming the WBC World Champion and wants to follow the footsteps of his favorite boxer Mike Tyson who is also a former WBC World Champion.[18]
Professional career
Neeraj Goyat was the first Indian professional boxer who went to Venezuela for the Olympic qualifiers before the 2016 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal.[19][20][21] He won the award of WBC Asia ‘Honorary Boxer of the Year’ 2017.[22][23]
Olympic Qualifiers Tournament 2016 Venezuela – Bronze Medal
Youth Commonwealth Games 2008 – Bronze Medal
Youth World Championship 2008 Mexico – Participation
President Cup Indonesia 2011 – Participation
World Military Games 2011 Brazil – Participation
National level achievements
Junior National 2007 – Bronze
Youth National 2008 – Gold
All India Super Cup 2010 – Silver
All India AK Mishra 2010 – Gold
National Games 2011 – Silver
Senior National 2012 – Silver
Signing with Most Valuable Promotions
Neeraj has made some noise. His callout video got 25 million views. He’s India’s biggest and best boxer. So, it is interesting to me, it could be fun to go over to India, and knock him out in his home country. Maybe one day, but we’ll see.
– Jake Paul, President of Most Valuable Promotions[25]
Goyat called out YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul to fight "a real boxer" on Instagram after Paul's victory over André August. The callout video received 25 million views, and Paul responded to the callout by replying, "Any time, any place."[26] Paul was announced to fight on March 2, 2024, against an unannounced opponent, where fans speculated it might be Goyat.[27] Ryan Bourland was announced as the unannounced opponent, and Goyat continued to call out Paul on social media, to which Paul responded by asking Goyat to come to Puerto Rico.[28] During the build-up between Paul and Bourland, Goyat travelled his way to Puerto Rico, where he got into a physical altercation with Paul before being separated away.[29] Goyat later signed a contract with Paul's boxing promotion, Most Valuable Promotions, becoming the first international fighter to sign to the promotion.[30] After signing with Most Valuable Promotions, Goyat revealed that before signing the contract, Paul and MVP (Most Valuable Promotions) promised that Paul versus Goyat would happen in India, but after Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fought first.[31]
Goyat vs. Nunes
On May 21, 2024, it was announced that Goyat would face YouTuber and comedianWhindersson Nunes on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson event at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States,[32][33][34] which is globally hosted on Netflix for July 20, 2024.[35] However, due to personal health issues with Mike Tyson, the event was postponed and rescheduled for November 15, 2024.[36] The fight was later announced to be in the super middleweight division and a six-round bout.[37] During the press conference, Goyat predicted Mike Tyson would defeat Jake Paul, which led Paul to set up bets with Goyat and Bruce Carrington for $1 million each and Katie Taylor for her full fight purse.[38] At the weigh-ins, Nunes weighed in at 164 lbs (74 kg), and Goyat weighed in at 162 lbs (73 kg).[39] Nunes and Goyat showed respect during their face-off.[40] Goyat defeated Nunes via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 59–55, 60–54 (x2) in favour of Goyat.[41][42] After the bout, fans expressed their disgust with Goyat online for his unsportsmanship by dry-humping Nunes in the corner during the fight.[43]
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