Egis Klimas Discusses Lomachenko, Gradovich, Kovalev

By Alexey Sukachev

Prizefighting is about the boxers. Often left behind in the backround are those who provide those pugilists with the necessary conditions and contractual chances to realize their dearest wishes – the managers. Much is known about Vyacheslav Glazkov, Evgueny Gradovich and Sergey Kovalev. Little, if anything – is known about the man who guides them - Egis Klimas. To fill in the gap and to know more about one of the sport’s hottest impresarios and his stellar pupils - BoxingScene.com contacted Klimas on the eve of the Glazkov’s next fight on Saturday morning.

- Egis, several years ago you were barely known around world boxing community. Tell us your story. How did you get into the pugilistic business?

- Well, it all started around 2001 or 2002. But to begin from the very beginning I was a boxer myself. Not for a long time but when I was about 13 or 14 years of age. I had just several bouts, and then an accident happened – I dropped a weight on my chest while in gym – and it cost me a career. But my love for the sport… It remained the same and even stronger.

In 1989, I made my way to the States from the native land, Lithuania. It was a golden age for heavyweights, really a great generation of them. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman – a number of the sport’s most memorable warriors was in the ring during the same era. I spent my last money for their fights. Having nothing in pocket, I paid 800 dollars for a flight to Vegas and for a chance to see them boxing. The first time I travelled this way was in 1992, when Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield were involved in their famous first clash (The Ring magazine’s fight of the year). From that point on I was following the sport being its great fan.

Several years later, while in New York, I visited another heavyweight event, which saw such notables as Bowe, (Andrzej) Golota, (Michael) Grant within the same evening. And in the morning, when I was having breakfast in the hotel’s lobby, I took advantage to get acquainted with Don Turner, a legendary trainer, known for his work with Holyfield. We have been speaking for hours then. And he suggested me his training camp in North Carolina. He said, “C’mon, if you have lads from the former Soviet Union, get them to my camp, and I’ll see what I can teach them”. It got into my ears and immediately flew away…

… Later I was in Seattle and I saw a young light heavyweight with just four bouts, Pavel Kravchenko (a former two-time Ukrainian amateur champion), and I offered him this chance. Pavel agreed and, together with another rising talent Ivan Korotkov, he relocated himself to the Turner’s camp. Both were great prospects, specifically Kravchenko, but for various reasons they failed to realize their potential. There were more boxers, more chances, but something was missing up until the moment I met Sergey Kovalev.

(Pavel “Paul” Kravchenko competed from 2004 to 2007, compiling a record of 6-2, 4 KOs. Korotkov fought in 2005-2008 and ended his career with a less inspiring ledger, 3-4-1, 3 KOs.)

When Sergey came in America, I did just the same – took him to North Carolina. With his connections I was able to meet Evgueny Gradovich, and from that point it has been a straight road, and I’m doing well. Then I imported my countryman Donatas Bondas (Bondorovas) and started managing his career as well. More fighters, more prospects, and it started to look like a business.

- Let’s speak about your fighters then. The most recent of them to showcase his talent was IBF featherweight champion Evgueny Gradovich (17-0, 8 KOs), who retained his title with a lopsided unanimous decision over mandatory challenger Mauricio Javier Munoz (26-4, 12 KOs). Tell us about this fight.

- It was a great performance by Zhenia. I’ll tell you something. Against (Billy) Dib, he got on his stool after the fourth and told us that he had just warmed up. It was something we weren’t very pleased with. But, hey, he got just a couple of weeks to get himself ready – he was a late sub for (Luis) Franco. This time his camp was perfect, and we told him not to wait till the fourth. And he did just that. Think about it: he has thrown 1331 punches, landing 438 of them (42% percentage). That’s one of the best results in decades, around the 14th place over the last 28 years of punch-counting. We are very happy now. We think HBO was pleased with Gradovich’s latest fight, and I hold my fingers crossed for him to come back soon this year as a part of big PPV – maybe even Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios extravaganza, also in Macao.

- Who will be Evgueny’s next opponent?

- Well, I’m not sure yet. According to [contract] liabilities, we should grant a rematch to Billy Dib (36-2, 21 KOs) but here is a nuance: a financial ground has to be presented in order for this fight to be made. In his last fight, Dib produced a dreadful stinker against Mike Oliver on the ESPN (Dib won on points in a foul-filled contest), and HBO said they weren’t interested in Dib vs. Gradovich. If Team Dib requests over 100.000 USD, their request would be rejected. HBO won’t pay for this fight, and ESPN can’t do that. Given that, I hope for a voluntary defense for Evgueny. We don’t know what will be next for Gradovich, but we shall wait what promoters will say.

- Another of your most talked about charges is WBO #2 power hitter Sergey Kovalev (21-0-1, 19 KOs). How is his camp for an upcoming fight with undefeated WBO champion Nathan Cleverly (26-0, 12 KOs) going?

- Sergey has a good chance to win the title. And he can (and will) do it against the best possible opponent in a very big fight. It will undoubtedly be the biggest test in his career thus far, but he has tools to pass it with flying colors. His camp is going perfect. He spars with several capable boxers, including undefeated light heavyweight Ilshat Khusnulgatin. His conditioning took place in Big Bear. Tomorrow (4th of August) we are leaving for Cardiff to continue our preparations overseas. What I like about Sergey at this time is that he is not targeting a kayo. Don’t get me wrong: Cleverly is the truth. He is tall, skillful and a great champ. But I believe we have more than even chances to get his title even on his home turf. Kovalev is that good. It’ll be a great fight.

- Who will televise it in Russia?

- In an unprecedented turn of events, the fight will be shown live by the “First Channel”. And it will be broadcasted also by the HBO.

- Why have you chosen to fight Cleverly, not the IBF champion and living legend Bernard Hopkins? That sounds like a bigger fight…

- Indeed, Sergey became #1 by the IBF by beating Cornelius White. But two things were taken into account. First, Hopkins wasn’t really wishing to battle us. He could have easily gone in the other direction. Secondly, Hopkins is a partner at the “Golden Boy”, and GBP fighters are presently strongly linked with Showtime, HBO’s biggest rival. We were thinking really hard. There were even talks to land this fight, I mean Kovalev vs. Hopkins in Russia, and we both know it’s possible. But at the end of the day, Cleverly fight was on table, and if we had chosen to chase Hopkins, we should have definitely miss that opportunity without getting B-Hop for sure, because he wasn’t willing to fight Sergey… So we’ve chosen to take this road. If successful against Cleverly, Kovalev will be one of the major champs at 175 lbs. With a title around his waist (if it happens surely) Sergey will be a much more interesting goal for those in Russia and for Team Hopkins as well. Everyone was pleased with this road, and we’ve chosen to go this way.

- What is next for IBF #11 heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov (16-0-1, 12 KOs)?

- Glazkov is co-promoted by the Main Events and Russian promoter Kirill Pchelnikov. I talked to Kirill, and he is interested in making Slava another fight in November, either in Russia or in one of the former Soviet republics.

- Malik Scott (35-1-1, 16 KOs), whom Glazkov fought the last time out, is not known to be an exciting fighter (to say the least) but he is very skillful. Were there any better opponents for Vyacheslav, whose reputation took a blow after that contest?

- Vyacheslav’s fight was the main event of the evening, and we had tremendous problems in getting an opponent. Literally everyone, whom we’ve called out, refused to sign an agreement. Scott was our last chance, and we chose to fight him rather than to stay on the outside looking in. Well, the camp wasn’t all that serious. Don Turner was called for but I asked him to work only as an assistant and to allow Glazkov’s original coach to lead the corner. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision, as there were some inconsistencies in the camp. There were definitely our mistakes in that Slava didn’t look spectacular that night. And I don’t want to take anything away from Scott, who is a great boxer himself. And he is very hard to fight against – he is extra elusive. I just hope we have better performances and bouts in future.

- Less is known about your other two charges – middleweight Lamar “The Boxing Que” Russ (13-0, 7 KOs) and welterweight Egidijus Kavaliauskas (2-0, 1 KO). Tell us about them.

- Lamar Russ is one of those, whom I have worked with from the very beginning. A very smart fighter, a great boxer. I was doing everything myself, including his fights, until the moment we signed with Lou DiBella. The last two fights were under the DBE promotion. Russ should have fought on July 5 but his opponent was eight pounds over the contract limit. We agreed to fight nevertheless, if lost three pounds. He did that but then commissioners switched the fight off because of a lack of necessary medical papers. Right now I’m negotiating with Lou to arrange Lamar’s next fight but nothing is solidified yet.

As for Egidijus, after having two fights he has been sitting in native Lithuania for some rest but now he is back to the States. Top Rank confirmed his next fight to take place on October 11. If an opportunity looms in between, we shall definitely take advantage of it. Egidijus is fighting four- and six-rounder now, so we need to be active. I’m very pleased with Kavaliauskas. He is a strong, solid fighter. He trains with Robert Garcia and spars with really hard fighters, real badasses like Marcos Maidana or Brandon Rios. But sparring sessions isn’t our goal. We came here to create something. For me it’s also personal – I want to make Egidijus the first ever Lithuanian champion of the world. Well, there was Jack Sharkey (aka Joseph Zhukauskas), who was a Lithuanian by birth and who came all the way to become world heavyweight champion in the early 30’s but he was an American fighter after all.

(Egidijus Kavaliuskas, 25, is a two-time Olympian for Lithuania and 2011 WC’s bronze medalist. His next fight will be on August 17th in Utah). 

- You’ve also worked with another countryman Donatas Bondas (17-4-1, 6 KOs). Do you work with him now?

- Actually, no. Donatas is a good boxer, and I wish him all the luck in future. He had one problem: he looked really good in gym, but something was missing in his fights. We talked things over, and I told him that I would let him choose the best way for his career, so he decided to sign with Bobby Hitz.

- Let’s talk about one of the most interesting characters in boxing today, who is up to make his pro debut very soon. I’m talking about Vasyl Lomachenko. You accompanied him during his recent tour over the States?

- Indeed, I have helped Vasily, his father Anatoly Lomachenko and his friends during their journey over America. I’ve been guiding Vasily for a long time. We first spoke before he has signed with the World Series of Boxing. Then I’ve got a chance to track him down while being in Ukraine, and he told me he was ready to weigh-in various offers, if they were concrete. After the WSB Finals, I arranged them a tour over the States. We met with Main Events, with Top Rank, with 50 Cent (who is getting stronger), with Golden Boy. Of all of them, the conditions offered to us by Bob Arum, were the best. Vasily himself, without any pressure, chose them.

Vasily is quite a character, he is very proud. He told firmly that he didn’t want to fight any punching bags, journeymen or pushovers. “I want to make history. How big is the chance for me to fight for a world title in my debut?”, he asked. That was impossible but Arum told him he was ready to make his first professional fight (on the undercard of Timothy Bradley versus Juan Manuel Marquez) an eliminator for one of major titles. On the same card, Orlando Salido battles Orlando Cruz for a vacant WBO belt. If successful in his first fight on Oct. 12, Arum said, then I would provide you with the WBO championship contest in 120 days max. That was agreed over by all of the involved parties. January 25 and the Madison Square Garden were mentioned as a possible time and place for such an ambitious challenge.

- Rumours were widespread that Lomachenko’s first opponent will be WBO #7 Mexican Jose Ramirez, who is coming off an upset victory over Rey Bautista in the Philippines. Is that a leak or just a rumour?

- No agreement has been reached yet. We are considering several candidates, and we plan to select one next week. As soon as it’s on, everyone will learn about it.

- Egis, we understand Vasyl’s point of view. But is he really ready to make a splash with that kind of strength? Is he ready to make history?

- At this point, Vasily is absolutely unique. Even though he hasn’t yet turned a pro, his style is already professional. He is ready for the best right now. I don’t know where he has found his style. I suppose Anatoly Lomachenko taught him much of what he knows right now. He is ready for ten rounds – hands down. His experience is colossal – about 400 fights at the unpaid ranks (reportedly 396-1). I think he has tools to make a history.

- Who will train Vasyl as a pro?

- His chief coach will be his father. We shall surely choose one of the best trainers in business to work as his assistant. Several names are in negotiations right now. One, whom I wish to recommend, is former two-time world champion Joey Gamache. He is a really good coach, who I think can help us. We shall also choose a separate specialist to work as Lomachenko’s conditioning guru.

At this time, our focus is to provide both Vasily and his father with working visas to the States. As soon as they get them, Vasyl and his father will relocate themselves to the US, possibly to Los Angeles, where there’s a great share of good boxing gyms.

- Vasyl’s former teammate and fellow 2011 world champion Taras Shelestyuk, who is fighting as a pro now. He recently stated during his web-conference, that Lomachenko's presence, his empathy, weren’t all that good. He stated, and many of us were surprised – that Vasyl displayed arrogance. He has even stated that Lomachenko didn’t say “Hello” to Freddie Roach while being in the Wild Card Gym. What can you tell us about that?

- My point of view is that everyone has a character – me, you and any other man or woman. Vasily is so accomplished, he has achieved so much in the sport of amateur boxing. Maybe, some people, who don’t know him very well, notice something. Maybe, at first glance, Vasily seems to be arrogant a bit. But I know him a bit. He is a very good guy, a true leader. He is very committed. He wants to make history and to become the very best. Lomachenko’s arrogance is often mixed with his ambitiousness. He is very ambitious. And he knows his price.

After the interview had been complete, Egis contacted BoxingScene to add some more info on the subject. "I saw it with my own eyes. Vasily did shake hands with Freddie. Unfortunately, he isn't that good in English, so he didn't fully understand what Freddie told him in response. But he was very gentle while being in gym. No problem here and no truth to these accusations", he added by phone".

- Vasyl’s teammate Olexander Usyk, 2011 world champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, was announced by boxing media to sign with Top Rank as well. He is being said to debut on the same card with Lomachenko. However, rumors have broken out from Ukraine (specifically from the national team’s head coach) that no contract had been signed. Where’s the truth?

- It’s not true, just a leak. At this time Usyk is not signed by me nor by Top Rank. He is in negotiations with various parties, including K2 and Top Rank. He will fly over to Cardiff to attend Sergey Kovalev’s next fight, and we shall continue our negotiations. Everything is up in air with Olexnader at this time.

- Egis, my final question is about your role in this story. What is your official stance within Team Lomachenko?

-  Officially, I’m not his manager at the time of our conversation. But I don’t worry about that. Vasily is currently awaiting the contract in Russian, which I offered him and which is in translation right now. However we have already shaken hands with Vasily, and we have talked everything over. To tell you the truth, my agreements with both Kovalev and Gradovich are also over, but we keep working together. I don’t worry about that at all.