Russian Anatoly Malikhin in an interview with , he expressed his respect for his rival in the title fight, the Canadian Arjan Bhullar.
On Friday, the Russian defeated Bhullar by TKO in the third round of the ONE Friday Fights 22 tournament and added the heavyweight title to the light heavyweight championship belt.
– Your fight with Bhullar has been postponed several times. Tell me, when did you realize that this meeting would take place now?
We have already observed it. Earlier, when we signed a contract for a fight, we saw that he was not training. And then we understood that the fight would be 50 against 50. This time, I saw that he was preparing thoroughly. He was almost at his best. There was a lot in this fight. I said a lot, he said a lot, and I had to answer with words. The winner of this fight has gone to a new level. Still, the heavyweight championship belt is the most prestigious of those there is. The fight was responsible, and now it’s clear who the champion is.
– In general, Anatoly Malykhin responded for his words.
– 100%. I am always responsible for my words. The only thing is, I said I would knock him out in the first round, but he lived until the third. Yes, even though he behaved lousy, fought a dirty fight, but I give him credit – he’s a really tough guy, he hit hard and took it well.
Do you still consider him a chicken?
– He was a chicken (smiles). And you know, in Thailand there are fighting cocks that are washed and cleaned. They are very valuable. Let’s transfer it to this rank – a fighting cock (laughs), – Malykhin told .
Malykhin, 35, now has 13 wins and no losses. Before that, the fighter fought in December 2022 against Rainier de Ridder, in which he won the light heavyweight belt. Bhullar, 37, suffered the second defeat of his career with 11 wins. De Ridder holds the ONE middleweight belt.
Boxing tournaments are broadcast live on the federal channel and the thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
