By Alexey Sukachev
From the current standpoint, the start of June seems to be a breaking point for the LA-based Bash Boxing promotional company, which guides careers of two of the most talked Russian fighters today: former IBF junior middleweight champion Roman Karmazin (40-3-1, 26 KOs) and hard-hitting heavyweight young gun Andrey Fedosov. On June 5, Karmazin, now 37, will try to realize probably his last title run in an IBF middleweight challenge against champion Sebastian Sylvester (33-3, 16 KOs) while Fedosov, 24, makes a quantum leap up in class by facing well-regarded veteran Lance Whitaker on June 12.
On the eve of a big summer time for Bash Boxing, BoxingScene.com contacted its head Steve Bash to speak him about upcoming challenges for his pupils.
BoxingScene: The last time we have spoken to Roman he was very enthusiastic about his upcoming fight against IBF middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester being headed to St. Petersburg, which is also his hometown. What has gone wrong since that conversation and why has the location of the future match-up changed so drastically?
Steven Bash: Well, nothing actually went wrong. A combination of several factors led us to a situation that was “more right” under the circumstances. According to the IBF rules, we had 90 days from the day we won the purse bid to promote the bout. The timing and economics of promoting a title bout in St. Petersburg within those 90 days were not ideal. So with the blessing of our Russian sponsors and Roman, we made an agreement to co-promote the title bout with Sauerland Event in Germany. As a result, we have retained certain assets related to the bout, insured certain procedures are followed with respect to choosing the judges and referee, and received additional revenue for Roman and ourselves.
BoxingScene.com: Little is known about the purse bid, which had been sensationally won by Bash Boxing over presumably much more powerful Sauerland Event. Can you bring us some details of the bid? Who has financially supported your offer?
Steve Bash: Well, the purse bid is a very strategic process that requires calculated planning and negotiations long ahead of the actual bid. It’s like a combination of a silent auction and high stakes poker game. Luckily I had previous experience in purse bids involving Dmitry Kirillov and Roman Karmazin and the financial support of St. Petersburg’s Rusloto to help win the bid.
BoxingScene.com: It looked like the victory of the purse bid procedure had over the barrel not only Sauerland Event but your team as well. Is it a correct way to describe your feelings and thoughts right after the local win?
Steve Bash: Yes and no. “Yes” because the dates of when we could promote the fight in Russia were right in the middle of the Russian holidays. Also, the upcoming soccer World Cup (starting June 11 and ending July 11) presented obstacles in securing important television revenue in certain territories. But “no” because we had still been prepared to make this the biggest boxing event in Russia’s history. We had the support of not only a great sponsorship partner in Rusloto but also local boxing promoter Vitaly Supichenko of Jab Promotions. We had even explored doing a mixed boxing and MMA event with my clients Sergey Matvienko and Vadim Finkelstein of M-1 global participating. It would have been a historic and fabulous show but the timing was not ideal. Hopefully, we will do Roman’s first title defense in St. Petersburg!
BoxingScene.com: Will the fight be broadcasted in USA and in Russia?
Steve Bash: We are still negotiating the broadcast rights for Russia but I am confident that the show will be broadcasted in Russia. I believe that there will be a broadcast in the U.S. as well, particularly with the exciting co-main event of the show (Steve Cunningham vs. Troy Ross). And, of course, there will be Germany and the rest of the world.
BoxingScene.com: Before Karmazin’s fight versus Dionisio Miranda you have complaint about Russian TV. Has anything changed since that? Was there a growth of interest from Russian broadcasting companies after Roman’s fascinating come-from-behind performance?
Steve Bash: Yes, there was definitely an increased interest in Roman after his thrilling victory over Dionisio Miranda. Roman joked that if he knew it would take a “Rocky Balboa” like comeback for Russian TV to become interested in him, he would have made some of his previous victories more dramatic. But Russian television is still quite far away from supporting the progression of their fighters like other countries do.
BoxingScene.com: You are also holding rights on up-and-coming heavyweight banger Andrey Fedosov. Will he be a part of the undercard? Who else will be put in the show except for Sauerland Event bunch of prospects?
Steve Bash: Fedosov (21-1, 17 KOs) will not be fighting in Germany. His next fight will be on June 12th in Los Angeles against Lance Whitaker (34-6-1, 28 KOs), who is a very big test for Andrey. The co-main event of the Sylvester/Karmazin fight will be another world title, the IBF cruiserweight title bout between Steve Cunningham and Troy Ross. There will also be some Ukrainian fighters (Oleg Platov) on the show.
BoxingScene.com: How much money will earn Roman for this challenge? A sum of 150.000 USD was mentioned in Russian media?
Steve Bash: I don’t like to talk about fighter’s purses. I think the media assumes certain numbers based on the purse bid amount and the percentage splits but that doesn’t always tell the entire story.
BoxingScene.com: Roman is being rumored to train in Uralsk, Kazakhstan, under the guidance of his amateur coach Kuvanych Uahasov. Why the decision was taken to go all way to Kazakhstan instead of arranging a camp near (or in) St. Petersburg?
Steve Bash: Roman was in Kazakhstan for some time but he is now back in St. Petersburg now. There are very few trainers that understand Roman’s techniques and style. So he chose to train with someone that knows him well. Because the fight is in Germany, it didn’t make sense to have Roman’s camp with Freddie Roach in Los Angeles this time around.
BoxingScene.com: Who will be working Roman’s corner during the fight?
Steve Bash: We are still working on that. Freddie Roach has a busy schedule around the June 5th fight so we are not sure if he will be able to be in the corner. Aleksey Fuks, Roman’s cutman will be coming from L.A. And Kahren Harutyunyan, a former NABO champion will be in Germany as well. We should have the corner set soon.
BoxingScene.com: Give us your thoughts about the upcoming fight? Which way will it turn? Will it be a crowd-pleasing affair or a chess match between two stylists? What Roman has to do to get a desired victory?
Steve Bash: I don’t like making predictions but I feel very confident that Roman Karmazin will become the first boxer in Russia’s history to become a world champion in two different weight classes. On paper, this is a 50/50 fight. Sylvester is a tough fighter but Karmazin is the class of the bout. Roman will leave everything in the ring to capture that world title. So I expect a very crowd-pleasing fight on June 5th.
BoxingScene.com: Sceptics keep saying Karmazin has badly faded over last two years. What can you answer those disbelievers?
I think it is bullsh*t and jealousy coming from people that have not been able to achieve what Roman Karmazin has been able to achieve in his career. Roman Karmazin is still one of the best Russian boxers in the world today. The same people that doubt roman now will be telling him how great he is after he wins the world title on June 5th.
BoxingScene.com: Little was heard about former IBF champion Dmitry Kirillov since his 2008 crushing loss to Vic Darchinyan. Is his career effectively over or will he mount a comeback?
Steve Bash: I think Kirillov is finished with boxing. There have been some good offers and opportunities the past two years for Dimon to come back into a position where he would have certainly fought for another world title by now. But the lack of activity for so long leads me to believe that we have seen Kirillov in the ring for the last time.
BoxingScene.com: Please address a few words for Russian fans.
Steve Bash: I would like to thank all of the fans for their support of Russian boxing. I hope all Russian boxing fans embrace Karmazin in his upcoming title bid. In the past year, it has not been very often that Russians have a chance to watch a native son try to make history in the ring. Roman loves fighting for his country and is looking forward to bringing the middleweight title to Russia.
