By Ruslan Chikov
Last Saturday at the Dima Sports Center in Hamburg, cruiserweight Rakhim "The Machine" Chakhkiev (11-0, 9KOs) stopped veteran Michael "The Famous" Simms (21-15-2, 13KOs) in the fourth round. It was the first time Simms was stopped his career. The boxer had two defeats, by decision, to two of the top cruisers in Germany, WBO champion Marco Huck and WBA interim-king Yoan Pablo Hernandez. Simms was very impressed with Chakhkiev.
"Chakhkiev was very strong. My game plan was to keep him active until he tired out. He had good looping hooks, head shots and body blows. He is much stronger than Marco Huck. My head is still ringing from the last shot," Simms said.
Master trainer Michael Timm also was very pleased with the development of his protégé:
"Rakhim has undergone a tremendous development. The training pays off and he took another step in his development. He really is getting better fight by fight.