Ubayd Haider (born Nathaniel Singh; 1998 or 1999 – November 10, 2024) was a Fijian professional boxer who competed between 2019 and 2024.
While contesting the International Boxing Organization (IBO) Asia Pacific Featherweight title, Haider was knocked unconscious, slipped into a coma and died two weeks later at age 25.
In April 2019, Singh won the gold medal at the Fiji National Boxing Championships for the 57 kg division.
[11] In October 2019, Singh made his professional debut at age 19 while a first year medical student at Fiji National University.
[17] In March 2021, Singh experienced a difficult loss while competing for the Fiji lightweight title against Ronald Naidu.
[18] After the fight, some attendees at the Prince Charles Park venue vented their frustration at referee Jerry Ledua, including the night's heavyweight title victor.
[22][23] The next month, he returned to Australia and recorded another victory, this time by unanimous decision against Luke Martin.
[29] Singh, now known as Ubayad Haider, shared that since his conversion to Islam, his faith had provided a renewed sense of focus on what he wanted to achieve in life and in sport.
Haider described how after nearly 20 years of boxing, he wanted to give back to his community, helping young boxers and building a career as a nutritionist.
[33][34] Dr. Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific media school described the fight, "I thought Nathan (Haider) did well.
[38][39] The brothers aimed to make history by contesting for two IBO Asia Pacific titles on the same night at the same event.
[42][4] Haider was described as one of Fiji's most promising talents, and his death left a considerable impact on the wider boxing community in the country.
In the following days, further questions were raised about the operations of the South Pacific Boxing Promotion, such as the availability of ambulances, insurance for boxers, and the requirement to have drug tests.