Ivan Shtyrkov is a grassroots sambist who has managed to build a remarkable career in MMA. But recently the fighter, who turns 35 in early September, has started competing in other types of martial arts. Shtyrkov boxed with Magomed Ismailov and kickboxed with Pyotr Romankevich.
Already on August 26 in Moscow, Ivan will have a boxing match with 40-year-old former UFC fighter Konstantin Erokhin, then on September 22 at the RCC Shtyrkov tournament in a fight under the rules of MMA is expected to meet another ex- UFC fighter Maxime Grishin. And on Nov. 17-18, there’s talk of a kickboxing showdown between Shtyrkov and AMC Fight Nights champion Vladimir Mineev.
“”, on the eve of the first fight according to this plan, spoke with Ivan Shtyrkov and found out how the fighter plans to “get rid of” such a load.
“TIE-UP” THOUGHTS. I ALREADY CREATE PILLOWS FOR MYSELF, INCLUDING FINANCIALS”
– Ivan, busy months begin for you.
– Combat triathlon really begins – boxing, MMA, kickboxing. It is not clear where the quarry went – uphill or where… But I set out on the path to earning. I think I made the right choice. The life of an athlete is short. And as long as there is an opportunity to perform well and stay physically fit, I will accept offers from worthy opponents. As I will be now for the next 70 days. On the contrary, it’s great, it gives me more motivation to train and practice. After all, age is not childish: in September he will turn 35. We are already thinking of attaching ourselves slowly, of slowing down…
– “Attach” ? And when?
– Possibly after August 26 (Laughs). In fact, God forbid, everything will be fine. But at 40, all of that should be over.
“Five more years. A lot can be done during this time.
– Time flies. And that (the end of a career) has to be approached gently and quietly somehow.
– To sum up, do you already have in mind the deadlines for finishing your career?
– Yes, I roughly set some boundaries and limits. I want to have time to adapt to life without fighting and without professional sports. It’s clear that sport will always be part of my life, and I’m talking specifically about professional sport.
— Many say that it is impossible to prepare for life after sport. That is, you can look at millions of other examples, but it still won’t be the same.
– This is probably the case with the birth of a child. Until birth, a person does not understand what it is. And yes, I am aware of what you are saying. But I’m starting to install airbags.
– In the form of financing?
– Yes, at least in the form of a financial pillow, in the form of plans for the future. A sports career is not eternal. Although it may end at any time, health may fail, a terrible injury. And before it ends, you need to be at least a little prepared. And so that doesn’t happen: “Wow, how did this happen to me, what to do next. »
– In general, sporting ambitions now take second place?
– No no! The sporting ambitions are the same: victory. In no case do I make any concessions in the preparation. There’s nothing like today I want to go to the gym, but tomorrow I won’t. It’s just that these three fights in a short time somehow happened spontaneously. At the same time, I don’t deny that I may have tried to jump over my head and slightly miscalculated my strength. But that’s my life and my experience. I took the duel with Kostya Erokhin literally a month before it took place. Initially, I was preparing for September 22 in MMA, then such an offer came that I could not refuse. I am interested.
“IN Kickboxing, Mineeva didn’t see anything supernatural”
– You have a negative attitude towards freak fights, but now many may negatively perceive your desire to compete under different rules – as if you were rushing between sports.
“I fight against monsters. If you look at how I prepare for these three fights, my training volume… I repeat, maybe I took an impossible volume for myself… It can also happen. But it’s completely different, it’s not a monster. Yes, this is probably an inadequate assessment of their abilities. Let’s see.
– In other words, according to the results of these three fights, we cannot exclude that you say: “Yes, I overestimated myself”?
– No problem. I don’t think I’ve ever denied self-criticism. I have always viewed professional and reasoned reviews positively and have tried to make the most of them. I am always self-critical. For now, I believe I will withdraw this charge. And how it will turn out – we’ll see. After all, when a person takes an action or makes a decision, he must be ready for such a scenario that not everything will go as planned. So far, everything is going as planned.
– From your “triathlon” only two fights are official – boxing on August 26 with Konstantin Erokhin and September 22 MMA at the RCC. As for kickboxing, we are talking about November with Mineev.
– In the history of kickboxing, the initiator is Kamil Gadzhiev. Will watch. I am not yet behind my opponents. Let’s see what happens at the end of August, then in September we will see what happens in November. No contract has been signed. Yes, there are verbal agreements. In our sport, the adversaries often change, fly away.
Yes, now I took some risks – boxing against a heavy blow in the person of Erokhin. As a result, a duel with such an opponent jeopardizes, say, my September 22 fight – anything can happen in a fight. On the other hand, people are skating, mountain biking, skiing, skydiving… And sustaining ridiculous injuries. But such a diet for two and a half months (including preparation), on the contrary, motivates and disciplines me. And if I can do it, then we’ll see.
– Your third encounter with Mineev will be the noisiest in media terms.
– This media coverage is not the most important. I like what’s happening now. I don’t like getting ready for nowhere. And with Vladimir Mineev we have a certain date in words, but so far with a fork in the water. It’s too early to talk about anything. And even if we talk about the camp for this fight, it is too early to talk about it. It wouldn’t even have started yet. Vladimir Mineev is a good kickboxer, but nothing extraordinary. In his kickboxing during the last fights, I didn’t see anything supernatural.
“WE CAN WISH A GOOD MORNING TO A PERSON AND THEY WILL FIND AN INSULT IN THESE WORDS”
– Will you seek advice from Magomed Ismailov before the meeting with Mineev (Ismailov fought twice with Shtyrkov (wins in boxing and MMA) and Mineev (draw and defeat in MMA)?
— (laughing). I think it would be difficult for Mage to kickbox with Mineev. Legs and distance… Everything is a little different here. But boxing was easier. So they ask other people for advice on kickboxing (smiles).
– Are there any other names you would like to fight with?
– Yes, I’m looking now… In Russia there are no people who practice boxing, kickboxing and MMA…
— Alexander Shlemenko.
– No. Today, something is starting to strongly emphasize that we seem to be facing some sort of conflict. For some reason, when you express an opinion, it is perceived as contradictory or critical. It’s very strange. Why this results in a negative result… I don’t understand.
– In other words, you have no negative attitude towards Shlemenko?
– From the last interview, where I talked about Andrei (Koreshkov), about training (Shtyrkov said that there is no individual approach at the Storm school). I didn’t mean that Sasha hadn’t done anything at all. I just expressed my opinion that if… maybe I could do better. There was no statement or anything. I don’t really relax. Words can be taken in different ways. If you wish, you can remove the negative from everything. You can say hello to a person, and then he will swell that I insulted him. If you didn’t like something in my words, then I’m sorry – that’s my opinion. And I have the right to express it.
– Do you have a conflict with any of the fighters?
“No, thank God. I am a very non-confrontational and peaceful person. I don’t see the point of it… Thank God, in my whole career, there have been worthy athletes with whom there have been worthy confrontations. And I haven’t heard any unacceptable attack on me. And I never allow myself to do that.
“IN THE CAM, I CAN PERFORM AT THE END OF A CAREER. BUT THERE IS ONLY THE MONEY IS A QUESTION”
– Boxing, kickboxing, MMA. Maybe another type of martial arts?
– Yes, kickboxing turned out by accident. We fought with Petr Romankevich (Styrkov’s only kickboxing fight in May, which ended with Ivan’s victory – “”). This event could have been closed: Viktor Nemkov was injured and something had to be done. It was an impromptu experience that I sought. I like to fight. That’s all. I train, I punch or kick. I can’t say I’m a kickboxer, much less a boxer. Yes, I understand something in MMA. But I will never call myself a boxer or a kickboxer, I just fight by the rules of those sports. Because there are organizations ready to organize such fights.
– Fights?
– I like the kulak, but you have to think about it. Maybe it’ll be a brilliant retreat – I’m going to punch and fight brilliant fights. How much health is enough. There, the amount of work is much less than in boxing, kickboxing, MMA.
– That is to say that the question will be exclusively financial?
Yes, there will be a question of money. And there will be no more questions in this story. Only money.
***
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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.
