Brother Magomed Ismailov , Ramazan Ismailov, said that Magomed’s next opponent in boxing could be a man who boxed with Sergey Kovalev (WBO, IBF and WBA champion). Kovalev had 35 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw as a pro, and out of forty opponents the most obvious candidates can be identified:
Mikhalkin fought Kovalev in 2018. Unexpectedly, they had a tough bloody fight in New York, which Igor lost in the seventh round. After that, the boxer from Irkutsk competed five more times: four wins and one loss. On October 20, Mikhalkin will have to fight with Server Emurlaev in Moscow, but Igor seems to need about 30 minutes to prepare for any MMA fighter:
– Explain where you disappeared to?
– In 2019, we fought well with Timur Nikarkhoev, our compatriot who lives in Belgium, for some of the WBO titles, then I started boxing very rarely because of the pandemic. We can say that he hardly spoke at all, he had one fight a year. In July of this year I was supposed to fight Callum Johnson, I came to England, and he just declined the day before the fight, citing an injury.
– You were training for the Irkutsk team during your break?
– Well, since it was officially impossible to do, we tried to train somewhere in the basement.
– And how do you work as a trainer after the fight in Madison Square Garden?
– So I’ve been training people since 2011, working in the fitness industry. I have groups and personal formations. Before and after the fight with Seryoga, it was. It’s clear that since 2013 I’ve had a rather brilliant career, but I haven’t stopped training people.
– What do you retain from the fight with Kovalev?
– Listen, when I was offered this fight, it seemed to me that we had boxing on another level. But I accepted it with pleasure. Yes, it was very exciting. Prepared as best they could, gladly accepted. If I hadn’t had a cut, maybe the fight would have turned out better, but I’m glad I had it in my career, I remember it with pleasure, the emotions are great.
– Why is it difficult to box against Kovalev?
– It seemed to me that it would be more difficult, because I watched each of his fights and saw that he was a very hard-hitting boxer. But in the battle there were no such hits that I missed and directly darkened in my eyes. Even if he is a very good boxer.
– His coach Roschenko told me that many people think that the main thing for Kovalev is the power of impact, and his legs are working well and the school is very good.
– Yes, yes, yes, he is a great boxer, trained as well as possible: the movement of the legs, the Soviet school. I would say he can hit three-hit combinations very accurately and it has an effect. It doesn’t hit anywhere, but more or less at some point.
Did you have contact with him after the fight?
– Before it was, and after it was. We know each other, we saw each other somewhere, we subscribed. I continue to watch his career with pleasure, I admire how he overcomes all difficulties. Combat is just a time when we have to prove ourselves. We just went out and someone had to win, otherwise I respect all of my opponents.
– You boxed in the category up to 79.3 kg. What weight are you going to fight with?
– I came out somewhere around 84-85 kg. I usually type like this.
– We recently heard brother Magomed Ismailov say that one of Kovalev’s opponents could become Magi’s next opponent. And I called because I found out it might be about you.
– I was not offered such a fight, but if you advance on this subject, I will fight with pleasure. If so, tell someone. I, Sergei Kovalev’s opponent, am ready to box. But no offer reached me.
– And how do you like the boxing practiced by MMA fighters in general?
– Well, if I can put it that way, then it’s “shit shit”. Can you tell? If it is possible not to watch it, then it is better not to watch it.
Are you talking about a fight in particular?
– Well, let’s say I watched Emelianenko against Koklyaev. Emelianenko is not a boxer, Koklyaev is also not, to put it mildly, a boxer. The result was obvious. I caught the fight between Emelianenko and Datsik, there is also something incomprehensible. Was it according to the rules of boxing? You can activate the boxing of very average guys and it will be better. I wouldn’t call it boxing at all. It is a fight according to the rules of boxing, and there you can already put a football player, a runner, a tennis player and invite them to fight according to the rules of boxing. They will still somehow box by those rules.
— When you look at how the basic sambists fight according to the rules of boxing, do you have the impression that it is a mediocre level?
I don’t think it’s boxing. It’s like you said, they fight by boxing rules. I didn’t really look. I didn’t see Ismailov fight, but I heard he had two fights under boxing rules. Somehow there was something. I’m not interested in reviewing: fights like Kovalev vs. Ward or Bivol vs. Canelo, I can watch it a second time. And I haven’t watched such fights and I don’t think I lost anything.
– You have been boxing for more than 20 years, boxing as an amateur, won 24 professional fights. Let’s say you are offered to box with Magomed Ismailov. Do you think you can fight such a fight by getting up, packing your bags and arriving at the arena?
– I think it’s a bit like that. I’m ready, let’s go, let’s fight. Right now or tomorrow morning. Announce the fight, we will fight, one hundred percent.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
