By Keith Idec
Ievgen Khytrov has been compared to Gennady Golovkin because he is a relentless, unbeaten middleweight knockout artist from a country that was once part of the Soviet Union.
Khytrov hasn’t welcomed that comparison, though, because with just 10 fights on his professional record the heavy-handed Ukrainian prospect realizes he has a long way to go before that’ll seem legitimate to him.
“I never compared myself to Golovkin,” Khytrov told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “I see some resemblance, but I try to be myself and I want people to judge me by what I am.”
Khytrov (10-0, 9 KOs), a Brooklyn resident, will return to the ring Friday night in Atlantic City. The 26-year-old former amateur star is scheduled to encounter Nick Brinson (17-3-2, 7 KOs), of Albany, N.Y., in an eight-round middleweight match that’ll be part of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader Showtime will televise from Bally’s (10 p.m. ET/PT). While Khytrov expects to win impressively Friday night against an opponent who has been stopped twice during his six-year pro career, he understands he’ll have to defeat more accomplished middleweights before he’ll warrant any type of consideration for a fight against Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs).
“I haven’t thought about [fighting Golovkin] because I know I have to climb a lot of big steps prior to facing the very, very top fighters,” Khytrov said. “I don’t even compare myself to guys on that level yet.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.