Hockey player Kovalchuk called Golovkin, Lomachenko and Gassiev his favorite boxers

Olympic champion, three-time winner of the Gagarin Cup Ilya Kovalchuk said that his favorite boxers are Gennady Golovkin, Vasily Lomachenko and Murat Gassiev .

Russian Gassiev will play with Swede Otto Wallin on September 30 in Belek, Turkey. The winner of the 12-round heavyweight fight will occupy second place in the IBF rankings.

— It’s unusual to see you in boxing.

– For what? On the contrary, when I have the time and the opportunity, I always come to encourage our guys. I once attended a Murat fight, when he fought at the Olympic stadium in Moscow. I am, his style is very nice. I really hope everything works out.

— The fight at the Olympic Stadium was not successful for Murat.

– Yes, but before that there was a successful fight in Sochi against the Cuban (Yunier Dorticos). Sport is such a thing: sometimes you lose, sometimes you win. The most important thing is to draw the right conclusions after a defeat and move forward with your head held high.

— Can we say that hockey and boxing are somewhat similar?

— Boxing is an individual sport and hockey is a team sport. But I think character, determination and courage are present in both.

“But hockey is also a sport where, when emotions are strong, they can be expressed in another way.

– Yes. This is a big plus for hockey. You don’t get kicked out for that (for fighting), you only have five minutes. When there is such an emotional release, you focus more directly on the game. So yes, there is something in common.

— Who is your favorite boxer?

— Since I’m good friends with Gena Golovkin, I’m going to call him.

— Do you think he and Alvarez were prosecuted?

— The first fight was definitely a victory. The second fight will probably be a draw. Let’s leave the third one out of parentheses. And so, I was in several of his fights. And on the last ones. I fought with a Pole. Plus, when he fought with Derevyanchenko in New York, that was a really good fight too. I really like boxing in general.

—Who do you love besides Gennady?

“Probably Vasya Lomachenko and Murat Gassiev, of course,” reports Kovalchuk’s words.

Former WBA and IBF cruiserweight champion Gassiev has 30 victories (23 by KO) and one defeat. The Russian has been competing in the heavyweight division since the fall of 2020 and has earned four debut victories during that time. During his last fight in March in Yerevan, the 29-year-old boxer eliminated the American Mike Balogun in the second round. Wallin has 25 victories (14 by KO) with a defeat in September 2019 against the current WBC champion, Briton Tyson Fury. After this fight, the 32-year-old Swede won five in a row.