Igor Mikhalkin: record, next fight and profile →
By Keith Idec - Igor Mikhalkin nearly quit boxing in the spring of 2016. The Russian light heavyweight was just 30 years old and had lost only once as a pro. But the European Boxing Union suspended Mikhalkin for two years because he tested positive for meldonium, which was added the World Anti-Doping Agency’s l...
Despite his tremendous success at the highest levels of boxing, two-time Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) says only now is he reaching his full potential as an athlete. This is not happy news for the rest of the light heavyweight division!
Dmitry Bivol is much more familiar with Igor Mikhalkin than the vast majority of fans and reporters wondering why they should believe Mikhalkin has any shot whatsoever at upsetting Sergey Kovalev. Based on what he has heard and read, Bivol is convinced people are underestimating Mikhalkin as his fight against Kovalev nears. Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs), the WBO light heavyweight champion, is about a 20-1 favorite over Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), a fellow Russian who owns the IBO 175-pound championship, in their 12-round match March 3 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Certain nations have always been known for producing boxing talent: Mexico, Great Britain, the Philippines, Japan and, of course, the United States. And now Russia stands on the brink of joining this elite company. The latest Russian import from Irkutsk in eastern Siberia, light heavyweight Igor Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs), faces the greatest challenge of his career as he makes his United States debut. Two-Time Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) will test Mikhalkin's mettle in the 12-round main event at The Theater at Madison Square Garden Saturday, March 3 televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:05 p.m. ET/PT.
Kathy Duva obviously would prefer it if there weren’t a boxing card competing against the show her company is promoting the same night in New York. Roughly 40 years in the brutal boxing business have taught her, however, to focus only on what she can control. Thus far, Main Events’ chief executive officer is pleased with how tickets have sold for her company’s card headlined by an HBO “World Championship Boxing” doubleheader March 3 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Boxing is full of big talkers. LeShawn "Lightning" Rodriguez (8-0, 7 KOs) isn't one of them. The 24-year-old undefeated middleweight prefers to deliver his big statements in the boxing ring and relishes the opportunity to entertain his fans at every bout.
WBA 175-pound belt-holder Dmitry Bivol is hard at work preparing for his March 3rd showdown against the respected Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs). This bout will be part of the HBO broadcast from the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The old Frank Galarza (18-2-2, 11 KOs) is back and his timing couldn't be better. In his second fight coming off of a 14-month layoff after suffering two difficult back-to-back losses, Galarza put together a strong performance at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on the Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy undercard, winning with solid scores in a unanimous decision.
Igor Mikhalkin hasn’t knocked out nearly as many of his opponents as Sergey Kovalev. Nevertheless, Kovalev knows his fight against Mikhalkin will be challenging because his former amateur teammate has the same mentality as him and most Russian boxers. Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) will defend his WBO light heavyweight title against Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs) on March 3 in the main event of an HBO doubleheader from The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Sixty thousand community college students participate in athletic competition, according to the NCAA. Another 400,000 compete if you include four-year college students. Only two percent will ever become professional athletes. Twenty-year-old Bronx native Ismael Villarreal (1-0) has already beaten those odds. The two-time New York Golden Gloves champion won his first bout as a professional boxer in November in his debut at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Villarreal returns to the big stage again at The Garden on Saturday, March 3 on the non-televised undercard of Sergey Kovalev vs. Igor Mikhalkin in a four-round junior middleweight bout against Anthony Woods (1-5) of Douglasville, Georgia.