Chakhkiev Eyes Spring Return, Comments on His Fight

By Alexey Sukachev

According to a number of witnesses, TBRB #10 (and also WBC #1, IBF #5 and WBA/WBO #11) ranked cruiserweight Rakhim Chakhkiev (21-1, 16 KOs) didn’t look his best against limited opponent in Brazilian light heavyweight Jackson Junior (15-2, 13 KOs) even despite a fourth-round TKO. Chakhkiev commented on the fight and his future plans in an interview with Sportbox.ru.

Regarding his Friday fight - “The most important thing was not to be tagged with a counter shot. I used my defense: my arms were high, and I was moving smoothly and quickly. It’s sometimes difficult to show your best like it was in a gym. But when I’m calm, not stressed, problems are left away [and I can show my best]. I’m content with the fight, and that I was able to land the punch”.

Regarding his future plans - “I’m pretty much tired following the last two fights, so now I’ll take some time off boxing. I’ll start training after the New Year, and we shall see where I’m getting to after that. I’m planning to fight again either in March or in May”.

Regarding Provodnikov vs. Castillo fight - “Castillo has surely lost what it takes to compete anymore in boxing. He was as easy as an opponent as was Giacobbe Fragomeni to me. However, there’s always a risk you’ll “eat” something. Ruslan has taken care of this risk and Castillo with it just in time”.