By Alexey Sukachev
Several up-and-coming pugilists from the former USSR have found a considerable success recently. Highly ranked (WBC #1, WBA #2, WBO #3 and IBF #6) middleweight banger Gennady Golovkin (18-0, 15 KOs) of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, will finally get his title chance in late July against WBA #15 Columbian Milton Nunez (21-1-1, 19 KOs) with a vacant WBA belt at stake. WBC #15 light heavyweight talent Ismayl Sillakh (12-0, 11 KOs), originally from Zaporizhya, Ukraine, made waves with a short destruction of experienced Daniel Judah in his first title ten-rounder. Heavyweight kayo artist Oleg Platov (29-1, 23 KOs) has come back after a year of inactivity with a TKO victory over Gbenga Oloukun, while Belarus’ big boy Sergey Liakhovich (25-3, 16 KOs) also put his name back into contention after two wins inside the distance.
With a constant rise of these ex-Soviet fighters and former WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter, who has caught the second wind lately, their trusted representative Ivaylo Gotzev found himself in a spotlight once again. BoxingScene contacted the Bulgarian manager to know more about his protégés and their future plans.
BoxingScene: How is it going, Ivaylo?
Gotzev: Everything is fine, thank you. This summer will continue a breakthrough by my fighters. I have really big plans coming up so keep your eyes open as there will be some fascinating moments to watch.
BoxingScene: Let’s talk about particular fighters, starting with Gennady Golovkin.
Gotzev: I’m working as an adviser for Gena. His talent is truly amazing, and I’m sure he will become a dominant force in middleweight class for years to come. We are now awaiting the verdict of German arbitrary court, as Gennady wants to part ways with his former handlers at Universum Box-Promotion. It takes a significant amount of time to resolve all these issues legally. But anyway Gennady will fight for a vacant WBA title on July 31 in Mexico against Columbian Milton Nunez.
BoxingScene: Where exactly will this fight take place at?
Gotzev: The venue isn’t set yet, but most probably we are talking about Culiacan, Sinaloa, which is the residence of a true legend in Julio Cesar Chavez. WBA junior flyweight titleholder Giovanni Segura will amaze a local crowd, and Gennady is going to take part in a co-main event.
BoxingScene: Casual fans know almost nothing of Milton Nunez. Tell us more about him.
Gotzev: He is a dangerous type, which is a usual case for these Colombian heavy hitters. He is pretty unknown and you will struggle to find any notable names on his resume but he earned his spot at top-15 honestly. Golovkin should be very well prepared to overcome his resistance. And, surely, he will. He is now training at Big Bear, California, under the guidance of Abel Sanchez.
BoxingScene: Rumors were that Golovkin would have fought France-based Cameroonian Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam on July 24 in Kazakhstan. Why did that fight fall through?
Gotzev: You know, N’Jikam had just recently fought Omar Gabriel Weiss in Marrakech. He will be unable to fight Gennady so soon. We were in negotiations with different fighters and various promoters but it was a purse bid that had decided everything. It has been won by Epic Sports Management so we are now set to fight in Mexico.
BoxingScene: What is next for Ismayl Sillakh?
Gotzev: We have two possibilities and we aren’t sure which way we shall head to from this. One opportunity is to fight next in Ukraine under K2 East Promotions or, it’s better to say, under the promotion of Vadim Bukhkalov. However, Ismayl has promotional ties with the Square Ring Promotions. We are presently in negotiations with Roy Jones to put Sillakh on his show, pre-scheduled on Aug. 28. Stay tuned for our decision soon.
BoxingScene: Whom will he fight against?
Gotzev: First of all, I want to tell you that I’m exceptionally high on both Gennady and Ismayl. I’m ensured that they represent the future of their respected weight classes. They really are. And, mark my words – they will take them with fireworks. They are that talented. But their talent is also their curse as it’s very difficult to find them any opponents. For example, we have lost a number of chances for Sillakh after he gave Daniel Judah such a bad beating. People don’t want to risk all what they have against Sillakh just because you can lose everything and chances to gain anything are so slim. Even Judah agreed on the fight only because he knew very little about Ismayl. He thought he was there against raw youngster and he had fully paid for that mistake. So, no, I don’t know, whom Sillakh will fight next. We shall see it soon.
BoxingScene: You have recently signed with Oleg Platov. How can you assess his potential, and what is next for him?
Gotzev: I think he will be able to change the landscape of the heavyweight division considerably. But he should be prepared to this. So, we are working hard to bring him more chances to raise his confidence and to sharpen his skills. I think that Oleg will fight next on Aug. 21 in Germany in undercard of a show, which will be promoted by Sauerland Event. We are now in negotiations with team Pulev to fight for one of minor belts but I’m not sure Kubrat really wants it now. He is yet a starting pro, and Oleg will be a little bit too much for him now. So, maybe it’ll be another opponent.
BoxingScene: Will Platov be training in Europe or in USA?
Gotzev: He will be guided by Abel Sanchez and he will continue his preparations in Big Bear.
BoxingScene: You were long connected with a former WBO champion Sergey Liakhovich. Are you still with him?
Gotzev: Yes and no. “Yes” because formally I’m still his manager. “No” because he is now back with Don King and he is guided by Don King and I have little influence on him. So better ask Don King about Sergey’s future plans as there’s nothing I can tell you.
BoxingScene: Aside from ex-Soviet fighters your most famous protégé is Samuel Peter (IBF #2, WBC/WBA #6 and WBO #9). He has come back in style drubbing several mediocre opponents before knocking out Nagy Aguilera in two. What is about taking him back into the title picture?
Gotzev: Yeah, we really want to make a comeback. With a new team around him and particularly with Abel Sanchez in his corner Samuel feels himself very rejuvenated. He is fully focused on getting a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko. Samuel almost got his job done five years ago, scoring three knockdowns, and I’m sure he will finish Klitschko junior the next time they meet. However, it doesn’t depend on us. Peter is next in line to fight the younger bro but we are waiting for a decision from the handlers of Alexander Povetkin. If Sasha and his management feel he is ready to fight Wladimir then we shall sit and wait. But if not, we are here and we are ready to go.
BoxingScene: Why not taking on another Klitschko in another rematch?
Gotzev: Hey, Alexey, first things first. We target Wladimir and as soon as Samuel will demolish him, Vitaly will appear near us for sure. He will be our second step.
BoxingScene: Will Samuel conduct another tune-up before going in for titles?
Gotzev: Most surely but I don’t know. It all depends on team Povetkin. If Sasha fights Wladimir this fall, then we shall take a warm-up. I have pre-planned a spot for Samuel on July 31 in Culiacan. We shall know more soon.
BoxingScene: What is his best weight?
Gotzev: Samuel is at best when weighing around 238-239 pounds.
BoxingScene: Any new names you want to tell us about?
Gotzev: Look out for my boy Sergey Karpenko (2-1, 1 KO). He started poorly but he will make a huge progress soon. Another fighter to watch after is 4-0 David Tabatadze from Ukraine. He is a talented junior middleweight and you will surely hear of him more in the nearest future.
BoxingScene: Are there any new faces coming? Have you seen the latest Euro championship?
Gotzev: I was in Europe at the time but I was unable to see it up to date. I know there are lots of great fighters there but presently I’m pretty busy with what I have.
BoxingScene: Good luck in your activities!
Gotzev: Same to you!
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Author’s Rants
This reporter is a steady follower and a passionate fan of ESPN Friday Night Fights as well as a true admirer of the work conducted by renowned expert Teddy Atlas and his blow-by-blow colleague Joe Tessitore. Having said this, I am forced to note some slight inconsistencies in their recent work worth mentioning as they are really footprints of somewhat bigger problems (not of the ESPN broadcasting team but of an entire boxing (?) community).
First one is connected with geography. One specific sentence that has touched me was presenting Sherzod Husanov as “the Russian” fighting out of “Siberia”. Firstly, Husanov isn’t a Russian. He neither is of Russian ethnicity nor is he a Russian citizen. He has represented Uzbekistan for a reason, as he is an Uzbek citizen and he is of Uzbek ethnicity. Moreover, his visa problems had much to do with being an Uzbek, which religion is Islam. Russian fighters had by far less problems obtaining any entrée documents. Secondly, Husanov fights out of Ekaterinburg in Ural Mountains and not “Siberia”. Though being pretty far from Moscow Ural is another region of Russia which has little to do with Siberia aside of being its western neighbor. That’s not an occasional mistake. It’s a tendency to call Ukrainians, Georgians, Uzbeks and some other ethnicities “Russians” based on a sole fact that they were parts of Soviet people back in Soviet times. But a commonplace mistake doesn’t mean it’s not a mistake at all. And it’s same with misinterpretation of Russian geography in favour of well-known stereotypes.
Second rant is connected with FightFax boxing records. As Joe Tessitore rightfully notified during the broadcast, “we have been told by Husanov people that he had five more wins to those nine listed in his record”. Those victories took place in Uzbekistan where Husanov had started his professional career. They went undetected by FightFax (as they are taking no authorized reports from the Uzbek national Federation) but they are right there at Husanov’s BoxRec page. That’s also not an occasional error. I remember another example of such an inconsistency when Yuriorkis Gamboa debuted on ShoBox against Adailton De Jesus. His record was listed as 3-0 with 2 KOs instead of more correct 6-0, 5 KOs. That was funny as I have watched four out of these six wins myself.
The solution is right there though. The time to choose between FightFax and BoxRec is rapidly approaching and the choice is soon to be done. It’s not a secret that despite its share of errors and mistakes (especially with registering results from the past) BoxRec is much more convenient to use (thanks to its electronic form), way cheaper (in fact free) than FightFax and has much friendlier approach than its rival. “Don’t ask me; look at BoxRec”, I was told recently by one of the commissioners of the local Federation. “Please, give me a link on him at BoxRec” is a usual exclamation from almost every Russian promoter or manager when discussing with him opponents for future fights of his protégé. It looks like a majority of promoters and managers are leaning towards BoxRec. And almost all fans have already made their choice…
