Your feelings before defending the title are very different from the feelings that you had before the fight for the title itself?
Of course, there is more responsibility and pressure from the outside. I understand that there is a special demand from champions and they always expect victory from them. But in principle, the inner sensations are the same as before. I am a living person, worried before each fight, and the degree of excitement does not depend on what kind of opponent awaits you. Excitement is always present. But before a big deal, this is a normal condition.
Have you and your team made changes to the training methodology?
Not. Preparation for battle, training process - everything is as usual. When it became clear that Peter Ohello would be the rival, we began to study his tactics, to select sparring partners for this tactic. We study Ohello in detail, but not because we are afraid of him. Not. Just so thoroughly and thoroughly we are preparing for any battle.
The main preparation for the battle you spend in the United States. This is not dangerous? Do you manage to acclimatize?
I see no reason to worry. The time that we spend in Moscow is enough to acclimatize and get used to the Moscow environment. My team gathered professionals, and they were engaged in the preparation of my schedule of training and moving before the fight. I am absolutely sure that they all calculated correctly.
Don't you think that holding a champion fight in Moscow is a commercially risky event?
There is no risk. As I know, the battle is organized according to international standards, according to a time-tested scheme, according to which all the main battles in the world are organized. There will be no problems with the infrastructure in Moscow either. Moscow is now one of the most expensive cities in the world, and Moscow hotels are not inferior to even the most luxurious hotels in Europe. In recent years, Russia has made great strides in terms of economy and living standards. This is noticeable, and this is talked about all over the world. Russia is a very rich country: it has huge reserves of gas, oil ... And thanks to this, after difficult times, Russia is now rising and will soon become a leader in the world. The country is developing. It has now become possible to conduct a battle in Moscow for the title of world heavyweight boxing champion. That says a lot. And I really hope that this fight will not remain a one-time action, and such battles will become a tradition and will take place in Moscow constantly.
And why did Moscow just now become the venue for the battle?
It is a very favorable time for this battle in Moscow. A Russian boxer will fight, and this cannot but arouse public interest. And, of course, it is important for me that Moscow is the capital of my homeland. I was born in Kazakhstan. But my parents are Russian, during the times of the Soviet Union, they left for Kazakhstan to raise virgin soil. Russia is the homeland of my ancestors, therefore, wherever I live, I will always be Russian.
Do you already know where in Moscow you will prepare for battle?
Yes, we agreed with the gym where I will conduct training. The issue with my sparring partner has also been resolved. But the location of the hall and the name of the sparring boxer are still kept secret, and I can’t reveal this secret to you.
You have already fought twice in 97 and 98 in Moscow. What do you remember from the time of those visits?
It was a very warm welcome. There were a lot of fans. It is very nice. I'm used to the fact that I usually fight in someone else's territory. And when you box at home, as they say, and the walls help. And the organization of these battles was at the highest level.
Three years ago, a strike against Julius Francis in Chekhov, you entered the ring in a Cossack burka. But the more you did not appear in this outfit. You do not plan to create a Russian image, at least for the Moscow battle?
Everything can be. Perhaps we will surprise the fans, but this is not yet accurate. And to put on a Cossack cloak was a great idea, which we were offered already in Chekhov, and we accepted it with pleasure.
You were born in Kazakhstan, accepted US citizenship, reside in Los Angeles and at the same time consider yourself Russian. What role did three such different countries play in your life?
In Kazakhstan, I was born during the Soviet era. Then there was no division into peoples, there was one big state. When the USSR fell apart into 15 states, I was in America with a passport of a citizen of the Soviet Union. Because of this, I had problems with Russian citizenship. For a long time we could not solve this issue, but I had to travel to other countries, and the only solution to the problem was the adoption of US citizenship. Obtaining Russian citizenship is now at the final stage of registration.
Last November, your mother attended the fight with Sinan Samil Sam. How does she feel about your fights in the ring?
She was the first time I attended my fight, before that I had never seen me in the ring, even in amateurs. Of course, she was glad that I won. But after this first battle she saw live, we in the family decided that she would no longer be present at my fights. Mom very hard survived that battle both mentally and physically. She couldn’t even tell me this; I saw everything by her face. Boxing, screaming, blood is not for her ...
Does your wife endure your fights just as hard?
Not. Of course, she is worried in her own way, in a feminine way, but she is already used to it, and for her my fight is not as stressful as for my mother. My wife is in all my fights. She already knows even small professional boxing secrets and has her own opinion on a particular issue. You could say she is the typical wife of a professional.
Is there a person on your team that you trust in the first place and always consult with him?
Only my coach can give me advice.
Do you yourself give advice to young boxers?
I have never done this. I do not consider myself a specialist in boxing, I am just a boxer. And let the experts give advice. Of course, I have my own opinion, but I try to keep it to myself.
At one time, the Klitschko brothers officially announced that they would never fight among themselves, because they promised this to their mother. There was a period when Mexican lightweights avoided fighting each other. Is there an agreement between boxers from the former USSR - for example, not to cross the path to the title to each other?
No, such arrangements do not exist. With the right approach, if the political issue is resolved, then I am not opposed to entering the battle against Klitschko. I can’t rule out a fight against Valuev.
Your closest rival Peter Ohello is African. There is a theory that dark-skinned boxers are easier to carry punches and harder to knock out. This is true?
Yes, there are boxers who, by their natural constitution, are better at holding a punch. Check if Ockhello belongs to them. But one cannot say that boxers who have not been knocked out more easily endure the blows of opponents. Any powerful blow that a boxer misses affects his health, even if he has stood on his feet after it. Those who do not fall in the ring have even more health problems in the future than those who have been knocked out. When a boxer falls after a heavy blow, a protective reflex is triggered, which sometimes saves a person’s health, and someone tries to stand to the last, and then becomes disabled. Any missed strike will make itself felt, regardless of whether you fell or not.
And who besides you decides whether this or that battle will take place?
My promoters and managers. In our team, everyone does his own thing. One selects sparring partners, the second deals with organizational issues such as hotel reservations and flights, and the third deals directly with the training process. And the manager is the brain of the team, on which a lot depends.
Holyfield recently announced that he wants to fight for the title with one of the former USSR boxers. He has already offered a fight to Wladimir Klitschko. Did not offer you?
Offered. The battlefield with Holyfield was considered, but we decided not to accept this offer. Holyfield markedly passed, and there is a risk that this fight will not buy television. If Maskaev-Holyfield fight is interesting for television, then why not? While the belt is with us, the battle with Maskaev will be interesting to many, the same Hopkins proposed to conduct the battle. But the right to choose an opponent remains with us. We are considering all options for battles, but neither Holyfield’s proposal, nor Hopkins’s proposal has interest us yet.
But Holyfield and Hopkins are great boxers. Wouldn't it be interesting for you to fight them?
Boxing is hard. And in many ways this is a business. I don’t want to fantasize about a fight with Holyfield, Hopkins or Tyson. I don’t even dream about such fights. There will be an opponent with whom I will be bound by contractual obligations - I will go to battle against him. A duel for the sake of my own entertainment, in order to say to someone in a few years: “I fought Holyfield” is not for me.
Text: Eugene Statsenko, Alexei Dyomin