“I am a product of the Soviet Union.” Great interview with Dmitry Bivol – about his father, Beterbiev and meeting with Golovkin in Kyrgyzstan

Dmitry Bivol 32 years old, in 9 years of professional boxing, he has won 21 out of 21 fights. But 2022 in Bivol’s career is worth more than everything else combined. In the status of WBA champion (up to 79.4 kg), Bivol beat superstar Saul Alvarez, then confirmed that it was no accident. Six months later, Bivol willingly dismantles the Mexican Gilberto Ramirez, with monumental statistics: 44 victories in 44 fights.

– You are called one of yours in several countries. And how do you feel about it yourself?

– In fact, I have this question since childhood: who am I, to whom do I belong the most? I was born in Kyrgyzstan, I have Korean-Moldavian blood, I speak only Russian, I have lived in St. Petersburg since I was 11 years old. And at some point I realized that I was a clear example of a man from the Soviet Union, the fruit of the Soviet Union, when all those republics were together. My parents met in Russia, but came from different countries. And I was born in Kyrgyzstan. Yes, then it turns out that everything fell apart. But I belong to everyone, even to Korea, even though I’ve never been there. I tried to sound like some Korean lessons, but it was still early 2000s. I was about 10 years old and in our group there were people of different ages.

“Why do you say Kyrgyzstan and not Kyrgyzstan?”

– It’s like they say Germany, but the country in their native language is called Deutschland. In Russian, the country is called Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, I can say Kyrgyzstan, but we speak Russian.

– Your father was in your corner for the duel with Ramirez and a little earlier for the fight with Pascal. What does your father’s presence in the area mean to you, and can he tell you during battle?

– Always happy when he is present at my fights. My dad took me to boxing, took me to training, waited for me. He often helped my coach, he could take the guys somewhere, even if I didn’t go. And they always say hello to him in Kyrgyzstan, they ask about him. He is very involved in boxing and now he can analyze my opponents, he can discreetly say about someone: be careful here and there. And then I can walk with those thoughts and understand that this is so.

There were times when he didn’t have a visa for the United States and he wasn’t present at the fights, even though I really wanted him to be there. He can give hints during the fight, but he respects the chain of command and tries not to interfere between the trainer and the student. Jae, if something during the battle can scream, then Gennady Yuryevich will generally be okay with that.

– He told us that during children’s competitions you met Gennady Golovkin. Do you remember this moment?

— It was in 1997. My second fight. I participated in competitions and a team from Kazakhstan came to our city of Tokmok. It was Gennady Golovkin. It seems even his brother was there – they both boxed back then. It seems even Gennady broke his arm there, and my friend drove him somewhere. I fought a fight in this tournament, even outside of it – there were separate fights for kids, then I was about 7 years old. Gennady was young then, and it seems he was even asked to be more careful. But our guy was no giveaway, and he seemed to win in the end. And Gennady, in my opinion, took second place.

– You live in St. Petersburg, but it seems that you only train in the United States. And you can do sparring in St. Petersburg, can you come to your first gym?

“I don’t come to the first room. This is the Palace of Youth Creativity, where groups of children almost always go. There is a hall in Saint Petersburg where my comrades train. There are even guys you can train with. A basic training is quite possible there.

Almost from the very beginning, Dmitry Kirillov (former IBF champion, 31-7 in pro boxing. – ) worked with me, somewhere he could even replace my trainer, keep me on his feet. He is part of our team, and our team consists of several people, including Dmitry or Sergey Kuzmin (the current heavyweight boxer. – “”).

Do you practice other sports than boxing?

– Athletics. Sometimes we run in the morning. But here I am a little below average. I even have a medal in athletics, in Kyrgyzstan I took part in competitions – running 200 meters. I also have a football medal – I did a little. I don’t really like watching sports. Football, it seems to me, is very long – an hour and a half. If there are big matches, you can watch with friends.

Do you watch MMA?

– Not too much either. We watched fights a few times, but that was also for the business.

– What was the hardest miss you had?

Probably from Smith. And the most interesting thing is that I saw this shot. I went to see him. And all the same, it flew like a hammer on a frying pan.

– Artur Beterbiev (WBC, WBO and IBF champion) has a pretty powerful shot, you’re worried.

– He really has a very strong kick, he has extraordinary physical strength… But for whom I love boxing. It’s not athletics where you have to be faster or have more endurance in a marathon. It’s boxing. Here you must have all the qualities. You have to be smart, tough, strong. And this combination of qualities is different for each boxer. The same Beterbiev is dominated by the impact force. And if something prevails, other points may be lower. And just take that into account.

“Arthur said you had never been friends with him and you had what he needed.

We were never really friends. Friends are usually called, invited to a birthday party, congratulated on the holiday. When I joined the national team, Artur was already an outstanding boxer by the standards of the Russian national team, and he was considered a senior comrade, from whom you could learn something. I would like to get in the ring with him, because he has what I need too. It’s interesting and great that he wants this fight: he wants it and I want it. The main thing is to find a person capable of organizing this fight. And I’ll be a happy man when this fight happens.

Of course, I want belts. Which fight will be more realistic for the organization – with the winner of the Beterbiev vs Yard fight or a rematch with Canelo, I will choose this fight.

– Can the fight with Beterbiev bypass the fight with Canelo in terms of hype?

Not on the world stage. Simply because Canelo is the most publicized person in boxing today.

Have negotiations already started? Your manager announced that at the beginning of the year there would be a kind of call with the participation of the promoters.

– Slowly discussions started about the next fight, but I cannot share information with you. I do not take part in the negotiations, my manager Vadim Kornilov is involved in them. And I already light up when there is information.

– Are you considering exhibition fights: like Logan Paul with MMA fighters or Conor McGregor with Floyd Mayweather?

– I do not consider it and so far I do not see myself in such battles. I hope I don’t see it. But I’m happy that bloggers are interested in it, there is a desire to resume our sport, and not to play cards somewhere.

– Your coach praises you a lot, but has he ever spoken harsh words to you?

– Gennady Yuryevich can say harshly, and in such a way that if I repeat this, it will be a continuous “peak-peak-peak”. I will not repeat. But he’s a very smart person and he won’t say rude words like that. Although that might say something about my actions both humorously and obscenately. For example, if I work on the bag and my legs are too narrow, he can comment on it like this … In general, I will not say how.

How do you settle in?

– It can be divided into several stages: a month and before the fight itself are two different things. Before the fight itself, I try to forget everything, to forget what will happen tomorrow. I only exist until I step into the ring. My life is no more. I turn on Tsoi, the music that puts me in place. I try not to think about some things that aren’t combat related. I become the ultimate egoist. And Gennady Yuryevich can say before the fight: “We go out – this is sparring, he is no match for you, you are better than him.”

Experiences? I’m not afraid of losing. I’m afraid of not being able to do what I have to do. And there is such nervousness: maybe it won’t work out, maybe there won’t be enough strength for it. But you start to put yourself in place, to tell yourself that you ran all you had to run, sparred all the sparring you had to do. Your sparring partners are no worse than your opponent, and in some ways they could be even better. You have completed all the tasks and should be confident in yourself. This means that all tasks must be completed. And the thought that they won’t raise their hands no longer comes to mind.

– Do you have warm relations with any of your rivals?

– Especially not. But sometimes we correspond with Felix Valera. Leave comments for each other.

– You said in an interview that you bet on Canelo when he was boxing with Floyd Mayweather (September 2013). Have you made any other bets?

– It happened, but I don’t remember who. It even happened that the guys said they bet on this or that, and I asked to bet for me and just gave the money. Sometimes he won, but a maximum of three or five thousand.

– And they didn’t get in front of Alvarez?

– Yes, I’m resting a bit. There are acquaintances who said they bet quite large sums of money. Someone even thanked: “Congratulations! Thank you, I won a lot of money.” There seemed to be a good coefficient on me.