Athletistic/Figure Skating. On June 25, Luzhniki will host a sports day in Moscow, one of the main events of which will be a sparring demonstration between figure skater Alina Zagitova and professional boxer, two-time Olympic champion Oleg Saitov.

The media, as well as Zagitova’s PR, who successfully promoted this event, presented it as an exemplary training fight, which, of course, cannot be true. An open training session or a master class from an experienced boxer who will simply land a blow from Zagitova, but he himself will not even touch Alina – yes. But it’s not sparring, which involves a mutual exchange of blows. Because even a demonstration fight between a professional boxer and a girl who has only recently put on boxing gloves looks surreal and will not pass without injuries for the latter. Also, he doesn’t add whists to a man whose hit can incapacitate Zagitova. But the flywheel was already all the rage, there were dozens of reports of almost real fights, as well as comments from stars associated with boxing, MMA or figure skating, and this fueled interest. at most. Some of the comments were neutral or encouraging, while most people didn’t understand Zagitova. Some have been critical.

“I don’t even want to comment on this nonsense, to be honest. The girl reminisces again, nothing more. Here we are talking exclusively about self-promotion. Will I be watching this fight? Am- Am I sick or something?” Of course, I’m not going to watch this, “said Irina Rodnina.

“What can be connected with such a decision? With huge expense. The main thing is that Nastenka does not go out with a black eye in the” scarlet flower “, said the figure skating coach Alexander Zhulin.

“Boxing is a male sport. My advice is to figure skate, dance, sing, draw and leave the men’s work to the men. What’s the point? Alina is a sweet and beautiful girl, why should she do it?” – boxer Grigory Drozd asked a question.

“I think the master class is better than an ordinary duel. It could all end there with bruises or even a broken jaw or nose. Just a master class. The fans would have fun, but it “It’s an unnecessary risk. Zagitova will be recognized, she has contracts, so there’s no need to put her appearance at risk,” said choreographer Alexei Zheleznyakov.

“I don’t understand why it’s necessary, if it’s not a joke. It’s unacceptable to box with a lady, especially since she practices one of the most feminine sports. is – I don’t understand. For me, it’s a dubious sight. How so? A questionable idea,” said MMA fighter Alexander Shlemenko.

“It’s absolute nonsense. It’s clear that the situation is absurd. A figure skater against a boxer or who is he. What kind of fight can we talk about? You shouldn’t even take the subject at face value. seriously,” Minakov said.. The MMA fighter added that only a gun can help Zagitova in a real boxing fight, but even then she won’t have enough strength to pull the trigger.

Returning to the question of what it will be – sparring or master class, and whether it is a sport or self-promotion in general, it should be understood that regular training will not cause any excitement among the audience. It didn’t sell so well and it wouldn’t greatly increase Zagitova’s popularity and media coverage. And this “sparring” is only aimed at that. Alexandra Trusova set her an example, having tried herself in athletics, the skater drew a lot of attention to herself. Zagitova realized that it was a good decision and went further, because boxing is more popular and will give more returns. Alina in recent years has ceased to be a real athlete, she has become a media personality. The goal of Zagitova and her team is to increase popularity, which will bring in more money. And so Alina traded professional sports for shows. Moreover, in figure skating, the age of the athletes is short and you have to look for yourself in something else. This event and its purpose is less sporting and more public relations and spectacle. A figure skater in a fight against a boxer looks like monster fight posters or bloggers, but it is precisely because of this that popularity will increase.

But is it worth criticizing Zagitova for this? No. She just has a different path now. She is only indirectly connected with the sport, as a former Olympic champion, and now her focus is media popularity, and she only uses the sport for her own purposes. But there are also benefits for society, Zagitova has a large fan base who can get carried away with a healthy lifestyle and especially boxing, a star’s participation in this event will be mutually beneficial for her and organizers.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic