By Francisco Salazar
Gennady Golovkin has pretty much set the bar for boxers from Kazakhstan. Junior lightweight Bekman Soylybayev hopes to reach attain that and blaze his own trail in the sport of boxing.
With little fanfare, Soylybayev has migrated to the United States, where he hopes the success fighters have achieved will trickle down to him as well.
He continues down that path tonight when he faces veteran Jose Luis Araiza inside The Hangar at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif. The six round bout will be part of a 13-bout card, presented by Roy Englebrecht Events.
In his last bout on July 31st, Soylybayev stopped Sergio Najera in the first round in the Los Angeles suburb of Chino.
Soylybayev (5-0, 3 KOs) had a lengthy amateur career which stretched over 200 fights, winning about 150 of them. He was the 2012 and 2013 amateur champion in Kazakastan and won the Soviet military amateur champion as well.
He hopes for the same success in the pro ranks. Which is why his team feels comfortable enough to put the 25-year-old against Araiza (31-13-1), who has faced a number of talented title-holders, contenders, and prospects.
"These are the fights where I need to grow," Soylybayev told Boxingscene.com earlier this week. "I want to prove to everyone that I'm the best. I need to face these fighters who have a lot of experience. It will make me better."
Soylybayev is now working with trainer Eric Brown at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. According to Soylybayev, prior to traveling to the United States, he had never heard of the famed gym before
Boxing works in mysterious ways as he is now training at the gym where the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, and Ruslan Provodnikov call home.
"I wouldn't have imagined being in this position two years ago. I'd never heard of it. Now it's a place where I'm learning. I'm sitting down more on my punches and combinations. I had never done that before, but I see the difference and the results of my last couple of fights."
Soylybaev is self-motivated to do well in the sport, but receives extra motivation from Golovkin. With an increasing fan base, purses, and fighting under the brighter lights, Soylybaev believes he can attain the same success Golovkin has reached.
It will take time, but Soylybaev is eager to prove he can reach the pinnacle of the 130-pound division and become a household name in the boxing world.
"It's is very motivational to see Golovkin attain that kind of success. It motivates me more. When I see him in the ring and what he has done in boxing, then I know I can do that."
"The more he wins, the more it motivates me."
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing