Former WBA regular welterweight champion Rajab Butaev said it was difficult for him to get a good fight in the United States due to the fact that he was competing for Russia.
On November 6 in Sochi, Butaev will fight in the middleweight division with Fazliddin Gaibnazarov of Uzbekistan. The Russian fighter has 14 victories and one defeat. In his last fight in April 2022, Butaev lost by split decision to Lithuanian Eimantas Stanionis and lost his regular WBA welterweight title. In the professional ring, Butaev boxed twice in Russia, once in Monaco, and also competed in the United States.
Gaibnazarov has 11 victories and one defeat. The 2016 Olympic champion and 2015 World and Asian Championships silver medalist entered the ring for the last time in December 2022.
— The return took a very long time. I am very happy to return to the ring with a fight in Russia, many close people will come to this fight and support me. At first I had injuries, I took care of my health, then I went to America and waited for the fight. And because of all kinds of sanctions, we could not get permission to fight. And the Russian Boxing Federation offered to organize such a fight.
It’s difficult to have a good fight in the USA because I represent the Russian flag. TV channels are not eager to see a boxer flying the Russian flag.
You could say I haven’t boxed in two years. During this time, I managed to think about my retirement and much more. But I thought carefully: I’m not ready to hang up my gloves. I want to at least become champion again. I am determined and hungry. And now I have a serious challenge ahead of me: a fight with Olympic champion Gaibnarazov. You have to go out and show yourself, then aim for a new title, maybe in a new weight class. Although I can return to the previous category, ”reports the correspondent of , according to Butaev’s words.
The Sochi tournament will be broadcast live on November 6 on the channel, broadcasting begins at 10:30 p.m. Moscow time.
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.
