Jirov Campaign !!!

[Nautilus]

Go Jirov !!!

Go Tiger !!!

[Nautilus]

GOAL
Jirov’s trainer, Thel Torrence says that Jirov wants to be the best boxer
in the world. He has been a dominating force in the cruiserweight division
and his presence in the heavyweight division can not be taken lightly.

STYLE
An intelligent boxer who can adjust his style, following the old saying:
You beat the enemy with his own weapon. One of the world’s top body
punchers known for his old school brutal body attack. His Spartan up-
bringing is paying him back with superior skills: granite chin, devastating
blows and speed. Determination is similar to a gladiator who fights for
his life.

DEFINING FIGHTS
Since turning pro in 1997, Jirov defined and upset many then promising fighters careers. Victory over Arthur“King” Williams
in his first HBO appearance won him the IBF Champion Title. The controversial fight with James Toney has earned him
wide recognition and won many people’s hearts. It was called Fight of the Year 2003.

TIGER NICKNAME
It was the media at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta who nicknamed him “The Tiger”. They noted Jirov’s determination
and aggressive body punching attack of a young tiger, true champion’s qualities.

AMATEUR BACKGROUND
Jirov won the Gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. For demonstrating superior boxing skills he
awarded the Val Barker Cup for being the Outstanding Boxer of the Games. In Atlanta, Jirov broke his hand in the first
Olympic match and kept fighting throughout the Games. A genuine ‘tough guy’ moment. He is the 1st boxing Olympic
gold winner, the World champion for Kazakhstan, where he is a living legend. He contributed to the popularity of boxing
there - boys want to be ‘like Jirov’. Won 207 out of 217 amateur fights. A champion of Asia and Europe, he earned 23 gold
medals for international championships.

UNUSUAL TRAINING
In sports from very young age, Jirov was into swimming, wrestling, karate before he found himself in boxing at 11. He
had the nations’ toughest trainer who used “unusual training techniques”. For speed development it was an attack
German shepherd. More at http://JIROV.com

WEBSITE
JIROV.com will be launched in March before the fight. Fans will have the opportunity to directly communicate with Jirov
and view photos never seen before.

[Nautilus]

(from www.jirov.com)

Tiger's Roar: Heavyweight,
An Interview with Thel Torrence, Jirov's Trainer since 2001

How did the Tiger nickname appear?
It was the press at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics who nicknamed him “The Tiger”. And he lived up to his name. He was acknowledged as the most skillful boxer at the Olympics. The world had an opportunity to see the aggressive and effective attack of a new powerful body puncher. He is “hungry”, he wants to be the best in the world, and works hard to accomplish it. He has the right attitude.

What can you say about Jirov's style?
There is not a lot of southpaws out there. Jirov is unique to American boxing – he is a multi-dimensional southpaw who can fight, who can box, and who can punch. To those who are not very familiar with boxing terminology I can tell that mostly we have fighters, who come to gym after they learned how to fight in the street. Boxing skills include boxing reflexes, timing, legs, jab, slipping, punching , and combination, moving…Jirov is widely recognized as one of the top body punchers in the world. He is an intelligent boxer who can adjust to any situation in the ring. He was running, swimming, spent four and half years in wrestling, karate…all that before turning 11. Then he came to boxing. He knows it all – from breathing to energy. He has hundreds of those combinations in his mind. He has gone through some tough school.

Are you still asked about his fight with James Toney?
As a matter of fact, yes. What do I think about fight with James Toney? Everyone who watched it knows that Jirov threw more punches, showed real action (while Toney stayed flat footed) and boxing skills. Did ringside judges give Toney more points, even though TV guys and most of us had it even? Yes. Yet, even now, people talk about it and tell me what a genuine entertainment it was. By the way, they ask when is the rematch. Every one of them notes they have a respect for Jirov for showing such big heart. That's the type of show that drew crowds to Coliseum to watch a gladiator who fights for his life. ESPN called it the Fight of the Year 2003. Both of them made a history – it was the first ever cruiserweight championship match shown on HBO.

[Nautilus]

IBF Crusierweight Champion Vasili Jirov
(from http://members.lycos.co.uk/jirov/)

1996 Olympic Gold Medallist and Barker Cup Winner Balgash, Kazakhstan/ Scottsdale, AZ. 31-0 (27 KO's)

As a boy growing up in the former Soviet Union, 11-year-old Vassiliy followed a friend to the local gym where he would meet the man who would become his father figure, coach and strict disciplinarian. Alexander Apachinsky is still the famed coach of the Kazahkstan National Boxing Team.

Apachinsky, an imposing figure and former National Champion himself, introduced young Jirov to the sport of boxing by personally getting into the ring with him and giving him a black eye. The next day, Jirov, a southpaw, came back for more. Later training methods would include putting Vassiliy in a long, narrow hallway with a door at the far end and a 5-foot lead on a German Shepard attack dog. By American standards, the training methods were brutal both mentally and physically. Jirov has the stories and the scars to prove it. Still, Vassiliy has nothing but love and respect for the man he credits with making him the champion he is today.

During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Jirov not only won the Gold, he was awarded The Val Barker Cup for Outstanding Boxer of The Games. Vassiliy calls the '96 Games "the greatest experience of my life." While in Atlanta, he realized that he wanted to live the American dream. He moved to Phoenix and met his future wife just two weeks after arriving. His new "greatest experience" arrived in September of 2001 - their first child. A boy.

Widely regarded as one of boxing's most brutal body punchers, Jirov won the IBF Cruiserweight Title on June 5 th , 1999 by stopping "King" Arthur Williams in the first Cruiserweight match ever broadcast live on HBO. Since then he has defended his title like a true champion, winning all five of his title defenses including four by knockout. Jirov, still young to the game of boxing has a promising future, including a plan to unify the cruiser belts.

[PBDS]

(from www.jirov.com)

Tiger's Roar: Heavyweight,
An Interview with Thel Torrence, Jirov's Trainer since 2001

How did the Tiger nickname appear?
It was the press at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics who nicknamed him “The Tiger”. And he lived up to his name. He was acknowledged as the most skillful boxer at the Olympics. The world had an opportunity to see the aggressive and effective attack of a new powerful body puncher. He is “hungry”, he wants to be the best in the world, and works hard to accomplish it. He has the right attitude.

What can you say about Jirov's style?
There is not a lot of southpaws out there. Jirov is unique to American boxing – he is a multi-dimensional southpaw who can fight, who can box, and who can punch. To those who are not very familiar with boxing terminology I can tell that mostly we have fighters, who come to gym after they learned how to fight in the street. Boxing skills include boxing reflexes, timing, legs, jab, slipping, punching , and combination, moving…Jirov is widely recognized as one of the top body punchers in the world. He is an intelligent boxer who can adjust to any situation in the ring. He was running, swimming, spent four and half years in wrestling, karate…all that before turning 11. Then he came to boxing. He knows it all – from breathing to energy. He has hundreds of those combinations in his mind. He has gone through some tough school.

Are you still asked about his fight with James Toney?
As a matter of fact, yes. What do I think about fight with James Toney? Everyone who watched it knows that Jirov threw more punches, showed real action (while Toney stayed flat footed) and boxing skills. Did ringside judges give Toney more points, even though TV guys and most of us had it even? Yes. Yet, even now, people talk about it and tell me what a genuine entertainment it was. By the way, they ask when is the rematch. Every one of them notes they have a respect for Jirov for showing such big heart. That's the type of show that drew crowds to Coliseum to watch a gladiator who fights for his life. ESPN called it the Fight of the Year 2003. Both of them made a history – it was the first ever cruiserweight championship match shown on HBO.

.....I like Jirov and I really liked him when he was dominating at cruiser. With that being said, I think his success will be very limited at heavy. He takes way too many punches to be around for long and he really got his ass kicked by Mesi until Mesi ran out of gas. He gave Toney all he could handle but if the fight was another round Jirov would have gotten knocked out. If moorer is on his game he will take Jirov out IMO. I hope he doesn't because I would love to see Jirov do well at heavy. Tell me why I'm wrong and why he can be a force.

[Nautilus]

Vassiliy Jirov vs. Michael Moorer Dec. 9th !

(source: www.Jirovfans.tk)



11.11.04 – They are former world champions who have each excelled in two weight divisions. But after their heavyweight battle on Thursday, December 9 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, only one can move forward in the world heavyweight rankings. Will it be two-time heavyweight and former light heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, or former cruiserweight king Vassiliy Jirov?

We’ll find out when Goossen Tutor Promotions presents this high-voltage showdown between two of boxing’s hardest punchers, in a 12 round bout which will be televised live on FSN's “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

Doors open at 4pm and the first bout starts at 4:15pm (PT.) The main event starts at 5:30pm (PT.)

“We are thrilled to be back on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” said Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions. "All sports fans enjoyed our first telecast with James Toney and Rydell Booker in September, reflected in the tremendous rating we received, they'll want to stay glued to their television sets for this one, which pits two world rated heavyweight contenders against each other in a fight that has major world title implications. Both Jirov and Moorer need a win on December 9, and each fighter packs the type of firepower to end it with one punch. This will be a great one.”

The first Goossen Tutor promoted Best Damn Heavyweight Fight on FSN drew BDSSP's highest primetime rating in the show's three year history.

Vassiliy “The Tiger” Jirov (33-2, 29 KOs) has made his name in the boxing business with a combination of a ‘never say die’ attitude and a relentless attack that leaves few opponents standing. A 1996 Olympic Gold medallist for Kazakhstan who also won the Val Barker Cup as the outstanding boxer of the Atlanta games, Jirov – who now makes his home in Arizona – ruled the cruiserweight division as world champion from 1999 to 2002. After losing a very close decision to James Toney in 2003 – a fight many media outlets named ‘Fight of The Year,’ Jirov decided to move up into the heavyweight division, where he won his first two bouts by knockout. In March of this year, Jirov was the underdog when he squared off against highly regarded and #1 world rated Joe Mesi in Las Vegas, but after scoring three knockdowns of the unbeaten contender, there would be no underestimating “The Tiger” in the heavyweight division again. And even though he lost a highly controversial decision by one point on each judge’s scorecard, Jirov had put his stamp down as a true heavyweight contender to watch.

"Fighting and beating the former two-time world heavyweight champion puts me right into the heavyweight title picture," said Jirov. "I'm going to show everyone that I'm a bigger puncher as a heavyweight, something my recent opponents will vouch for." The storied career of Michael Moorer (46-4-1, 36 KOs) began in 1988, and throughout the early 90’s “Double M” terrorized the light heavyweight division, winning a WBO world championship that he defended nine times before jumping to the heavyweight division in 1991. Moorer’s success continued among the big boys, and in 1994 he became the first southpaw to win the world heavyweight championship when he scored a stirring 12 round decision win over Evander Holyfield in 1994.

After he lost the belt to Hall of Famer George Foreman later that year, Moorer regained the crown with a decision win over Axel Schulz in 1996, and he defended his title twice before losing a courageous battle to Holyfield in their 1997 rematch. Moorer took a three-year break from the ring, but since his return in 2004, the Pennsylvania resident has compiled a 7-2-1 record with five knockouts, and he knows he is just one victory away from becoming a player again in the wide-open heavyweight division.

"This is it," said Moorer. "Do or die. I'm my strongest when everyone counts me out. Come December 9, they will be counting Jirov out."

ABOUT "THE BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW PERIOD"

Each weeknight on FSN, sports and entertainment collide with the biggest name guest joining actor Tom Arnold, former NBA star John Salley, former NFL Pro Bowler Bryan Cox and host Chris Rose. This group tosses around sports conversation from the fans' and players' points of view with a no-holds-barred approach. Blending sports and comedy with an irreverent tone throughout the 90 minutes, BDSSP, airs at 8:00PM and 11:00 PM

[Nautilus]

.....I like Jirov and I really liked him when he was dominating at cruiser. With that being said, I think his success will be very limited at heavy. He takes way too many punches to be around for long and he really got his ass kicked by Mesi until Mesi ran out of gas. He gave Toney all he could handle but if the fight was another round Jirov would have gotten knocked out. If moorer is on his game he will take Jirov out IMO. I hope he doesn't because I would love to see Jirov do well at heavy. Tell me why I'm wrong and why he can be a force.

Jirov is a Great Fighter. I will admire his courage and heart in his every win and loss.

[simeraksou]

haha. i like that photo where mesi gets whopped. his face looks funny

[PBDS]

Jirov is a Great Fighter. I will admire his courage and heart in his every win and loss.

...I hear ya, but I still don't think he will succeed at heavy. I hope I'm wrong because I would love nothing more than to see him become a force. I like his story, his heart, his background, and everything about him.

[Nautilus]

.....I like Jirov and I really liked him when he was dominating at cruiser. With that being said, I think his success will be very limited at heavy. He takes way too many punches to be around for long and he really got his ass kicked by Mesi until Mesi ran out of gas.

Mesi was a top 3 WBC fighter at the time. Jirov's performance was great against a very good boxer.

Mesi never ran out of gas, but rather Jirov went after him in the last three rounds.

Mesi is a very good boxer, who can become a Champion one day, if he gets medical clearance.