ESPN's Top 10 Active fighters from the former USSR

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The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 opened the door to professional boxing for a stream of fighters from the former USSR and the face of the fight game was soon to change. Who could have dreamed in the 1970s that 30 years later, fighters from behind what used to be called the Iron Curtain would dominate the heavyweight division?

London-based international boxing manager and agent Philippe Fondu handles a number of fighters from the former Soviet bloc, including world-ranked lightweight Yuri Romanov of Belarus.

"These guys come from a strong amateur background," Fondu said from London this week, "so when they go pro they're already professionals. Boxing is traditionally a sport for the poor, and for a lot of these guys, they come from a background that's like it was here [in the west] in the 1930s."

Fondu believes, amateur pedigree, work ethic and hunger for a better life is the common thread that drives these fighters.

As Ukrainian Wladimir Sidorenko counts down to a bantamweight title defense on Saturday, here is a look at a top 10 list of currently active fighters from the former Soviet Union.

10. Vic Darchinyan



Armenia's Darchinyan settled in Australia after boxing in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney -- a decade after Russia's Kostya Tszyu turned professional Down Under after winning a gold medal in the world championships in the same city.

A heavy hitting southpaw, Darchinyan had a deep amateur background that included boxing in the world championships twice, but his aggressive style was better suited for professional boxing. He had some exciting wins on Showtime, outclassing opponents with power rather than technique, but a stunning KO defeat against Filipino Nonito Donaire wrecked Darchinyan's hopes of a superfight with Jorge Arce. Now boxing in the 115-pound junior bantam division, Darchinyan fought a controversial draw with Z Gorres in the Philippines his last fight. He still remains an attraction, although the Donaire defeat diminished his reputation.

9. Sultan Ibragimov



Russian southpaw Ibragimov -- the 2000 Olympic heavyweight silver medalist -- turned professional with Warriors Boxing in Miami and showed that a smallish heavyweight can enjoy success against today's super-sized big men, that is until he was matched with Wladimir Klitschko.

Ibragimov's ultra-defensive showing in that bout dealt a blow to his reputation, but before this he had boxed pleasingly in heavyweight championship wins over Shannon Briggs and Evander Holyfield. Ibragimov can come back -- although 33, he has not had a long career (24 bouts) and he can look at the Klitschko fight as a learning experience.

8. Andreas Kotelnik



Only the most serious fans will have heard of Andreas Kotelnik, but the Hamburg-based Ukrainian is a solid, well-schooled technician worthy of respect. Kotelnik showed just how good he is by hammering Gavin Rees in 12 rounds in Cardiff in March to become junior welter champion at the second attempt. The previously unbeaten, busy-punching Rees was systematically broken down.

Kotelnik, the lightweight silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics, has had bad luck on the scorecards, losing close decisions on the road against Junior Witter in Britain and Souleymane M'baye in France. Then in Liverpool he had to settle for a draw in a world title rematch with M'baye. In the fight with Rees, though, he gave a textbook-perfect performance and had his stocky opponent hurt and reeling when the referee intervened.

7. Alexander Povetkin



Russia's unbeaten Povetkin has a combination-punching, aggressive style that could be called more American than Eastern European. Small by today's heavyweight standards, but strong and thickset, the 28-year-old Povetkin brings pressure and a high-punch output. He completely outworked the skilled counter puncher Eddie Chambers on HBO in January and before this he easily beat former contender Larry Donald and overpowered ex-champion Chris Byrd.

Povetkin won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, in the super heavyweight (over 201 pounds) division and gold at the world championships in 2003. He went into his world championships gold-medal bout against Pedro Carrion suffering from a badly bruised, swollen right eye, but he overcame the much bigger Cuban in a close contest.

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6. Sergiy Dzinziruk



Hamburg-based Ukrainian Dzinziruk is one of those "under the radar" fighters. The tall southpaw has won 35 consecutive bouts, his biggest win coming when he outpointed Daniel Santos to become junior middleweight champion.

Dzinziruk has the typically, solid, amateur background associated with former USSR boxers, having been a silver medalist in the world and European championships. He has a highly technical style, boxing out of a high guard, scoring with quick punches and immediately getting his gloves up again. I would put him in the "hard to beat" category -- very hard to beat, in his case. Although Dzinziruk had a difficult time in his last fight against the crowding tactics of tough Czech Lukas Konecny, I thought that the Ukrainian's consistency earned him the majority decision win.

5. Nikolai Valuev



The 7-foot "Russian Giant" Valuev is a rarity for a former Soviet bloc fighter, because he had hardly any amateur experience and has been mainly learning on the job as a professional.

Due to his enormous size it was inevitable that Valuev was long regarded as an oddity rather than a serious fighter, but I think that people have gradually come around to the idea that he actually does have ability.

With his height and reach, plus 320 pounds of physical mass, Valuev simply had to master the basics -- left jab and straight right hand -- to make him a difficult opponent for most heavyweights. Although beaten by the much smaller, but more skilled Ruslan Chagaev, Valuev has acquired a new trainer and in his last fight he looked well balanced and actually quite accomplished when he outclassed former champion Sergei Liakhovich. Fans will be looking forward to seeing how this "new" Valuev gets on in his July rematch with Chagaev.

4. Wladimir Sidorenko




In Germany, where he is based, they call bantamweight champ Sidorenko "The Powerhouse," and for good reason. The muscled, chunky Ukrainian, is extremely strong for a 118-pounder and he seems able to fight at the same fast pace for 12 rounds without tiring.

Sidorenko usually wins by pressing forward and outworking and outpunching his opponents -- they just cannot keep up with him -- but I was impressed with the way he switched to a moving, boxing style to outpoint the Thai, Poonsawat, who was proving quite a handful on the inside.

A European amateur champion and Olympic bronze medalist -- he beat Daniel Ponce De Leon on his way to the semifinals -- the unbeaten Sidorenko won in France and Japan in his last two title defenses. On Saturday in Germany he defends against a Panamanian southpaw named Anselmo Moreno, which could spell trouble as Sidorenko's most difficult fights were against another Panamanian southpaw, Ricardo Cordoba -- two 12-round draws in which the decision could have gone either way.

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3. Ruslan Chagaev



Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan gave a tactically superb performance when outpointing the far bigger Nikolai Valuev in their heavyweight title fight in 2007 -- a masterful job of hitting and getting away. He will try to repeat the performance in the rematch on July 5.

Chagaev's clever boxing against Valuev was a bit of a revelation because he had always been considered a pressure fighter who took the fights to his opponents and imposed himself on the inside. Against Valuev, though, he showed another dimension.

The southpaw Chagaev had an interesting amateur background. An Olympic representative for Uzbekistan, he won the world amateur title at super heavyweight in 1997 despite having won two professional fights that escaped the attention of amateur authorities. Reinstated as an amateur, Chagaev won another world championships gold medal before going professional with Universum in Germany.


2. Arthur Abraham


Durable Armenian Arthur Abraham, left, is gearing up for a rematch with Edison Miranda.

King" Arthur Abraham is coming to America when fights in a rematch with Colombia's Edison Miranda. The fight will be televised on HBO from Hollywood, Fla., on June 21. Despite the well-documented controversial aspects of the first meeting in Germany, Abraham's courage was much commended when he boxed his way to the unanimous decision while suffering from a broken jaw. If Abraham beats Miranda again it is expected to set the stage for a meeting of middleweight champions against Kelly Pavlik.

Abraham moved to Germany with his parents and brother (also a professional boxer) and is said to have won 81 of 90 amateur bouts, which included winning the German "international" title for foreign-born boxers. He started out as a sparring partner for longtime 168-pound champion Sven Ottke at the Sauerland Event gym in Berlin, but quickly became a star in his own right.

Very strong and durable, Abraham fights from behind a high guard, exploding with bursts of heavy hooks, right hands and uppercuts. I get the impression that he was a little lacking in motivation in his last two fights, which will not be the case when he renews rivalry with Miranda.

1. Wladimir Klitschko



Klitschko picked up the pieces after a shattering second-round stoppage by South Africa's Corrie Sanders and then a strange collapse against Lamon Brewster, by staying unbeaten in the past four years. The 6-foot-7 Ukrainian has his critics -- his chin is certainly considered questionable -- but most people in boxing regard Klitschko as the world's No. 1 heavyweight.

Trainer Emanuel Steward has done a great job in rebuilding Klitschko's confidence as well as doing technical fine-tuning. The 1996 Olympic gold medalist has added a formidable left hook to his excellent left jab and "Dr. Steelhammer" right hand. The biggest criticism of Klitschko, though, is that he can be just too patient and cautious, as he was (to trainer Steward's forcibly expressed exasperation) when outpointing Sultan Ibragimov in his last fight.

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