“I don’t see the point in changing anything if it works.” Former IBF champion from Russia tells how much the camp in Los Angeles costs

Former IBF junior welterweight champion, Russian Sergei Lipinets (17-2-1, KO 13) will face 26-year-old Dominican Michel Rivera (24-1, KO 14) on November 25 in Las Vegas. Born in Kazakhstan, world kickboxing champion Lipinets, 34, made his professional debut in 2014 and in his starting five fights he boxed four times in Russia, the rest of his career spent exclusively in the United States. United, where he is preparing. .

It was about the training camp in Los Angeles that the correspondent spoke to Lipinets. You can also learn from this interview:

“I WAS EXPECTING CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS WITH PROGRACE AND MATIAS, BUT IT DIDN’T WORK”

“My fight will finally take place,” Sergei Lipinets began on . “I was first offered a fight with Michel Rivera and they said they would put it on as part of a good show. And that’s what happened – I’m going to box on the David Benavidez – Demitrius Andrade card.

— If you do not go into details, but just look at the age difference between you and your opponent, it may seem that the organizers are neglecting you at your expense and letting the young hopeful down. Maybe they see him as a future star?

– Well, I can’t say that the star… He lost in his last fight. I would add to your question: the promoters have two scenarios. Let’s start with the fact that they get to see how much I have left in the clip. If, in their opinion, I don’t look very good, then they have a youngster who, by beating me, will be able to return to his former position and climb the rankings. If he doesn’t succeed, my campaign for the second world championship belt will continue.

— Your last fight took place in August 2022, when you, as an underdog, defeated American Omar Figueroa and won the WBC silver belt. It seemed like your career had restarted and everything was about to take off. But in the end, we have a very long downtime…

— Unfortunately, it was such a year. Look, a lot of good boxers had one fight this year, or at most two. It is as it is. I was waiting for a fight for the belt, although at those times I was offered other fights without star opponents and without belts.

But I hoped and believed that we would reach an agreement with the WBC. After all, I owned the WBC Silver belt and had the right to claim a full title. And everything was going to the point that Régis Prograis (WBC junior welterweight champion) was supposed to fight with me. But eventually, Prograis’ promoter left boxing and he was looking for a new representative. Furthermore, the promoters did not agree among themselves. And I waited about seven months. This time. Then we somehow agreed on a fight with the IBF champion [пуэрториканцем] Sabriel Mathias, and he agreed to fight. But in the end, they insisted on the mandatory defense of the belt, and Matias will meet Shokhjakhon Ergashev as part of the same show on November 25.

— In the end, you waited for the opportunity to stage a championship fight, but you agreed to a ranking fight.

– Yes, it didn’t work out with the belt, and we made an appointment with Rivera at a good show so as not to sit idly by any longer. And Rivera is now gaining weight after his latest loss. I can’t call him a puncher boxer, but he has good timing and speed.

—And compared to Rivera, do you consider yourself a favorite?

“I think in my division I hit harder, I have good reaction, good speed. Everything will depend on how quickly I can approach him to deliver my powerful shots.

“TRAINING IN LOS ANGELES NEEDS 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH, BUT THE MANAGERS COVER THESE COSTS FOR ME”

— Let’s return to the subject of your downtime, which lasted more than a year. The question is trivial: how did you live during this period? Taking into account that boxing is your income-producing profession.

—Before that, I made a lot of money from fighting, and I also had some investments, even if they didn’t bring in much. Basically, I spent everything I had previously earned. And so my managers pay for my apartment, my car, my food, my vitamins. In general, I am completely under the wing of the managers, so I have no problems.

— Tell us about the cost of training in the USA?

— I will speak for Los Angeles. It may be cheaper to rent a house in Miami and Las Vegas, but in Los Angeles housing is very expensive. For example, a one-room apartment will cost about two thousand dollars a month. But usually apartments are rented for a year, so this is the monthly price, taking into account that you rent for a year, but pay every month. If you find an apartment for a month, two or three, the price will be significantly more than two thousand dollars. Certainly not less than $2,500.

— It’s clear for housing. There is also the training process, nutrition, logistics, vitamins, etc.

– Everything depends on you.

– Okay, how much do you need?

– I didn’t count exactly. But look… It will cost around $6-7 thousand per month. It’s minimal.

“In other words, to this amount we add the price of the apartment and the result is that the preparation in Los Angeles costs roughly around ten thousand dollars.

– Yes, you also need to find a coach. And each specialist has his own price. If you make a lot of money, they take 10%. [от гонорара]. Some people only charge $800 per week. A little more and others less. A lot also depends on the choice of food. Los Angeles has cheap food, but not very good quality. Accordingly, the better the food, the more expensive it is. It’s the same with housing, you can live in a disadvantaged neighborhood somewhere on the outskirts for a thousand dollars.

— Is it important for you to prepare for the USA?

— I started my boxing career here. And I don’t see the point in changing anything if it works. Don’t forget I have a trainer here [Джастин Форчун]. And he, for example, will not accompany me [в Россию] for a few months, because he has work here and clients – boxers and movie stars. In the corridors I saw Regis Prograis, Deontay Wilder.

“I ALWAYS WENT TO BATTLES WITH THE FLAGS OF KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA, AND NOW I WILL TAKE THE FLAG OF THE LAKES”

— Have you ever thought about retiring from your career?

— My body feels good, I train with young boxers aged 25-26. And I feel good. I hope this is my best age and I’m at my peak. How long will this last… I hope, at least three years. And everything, of course, will be shown in the ring – how ready I am.

— From now on, Russian boxers at the professional level can no longer participate in fights with national attributes. If I understand correctly, you will be introduced as a boxer from Kazakhstan.

— Yes, I will be introduced as a boxer from Kazakhstan. I am very happy and proud to represent both Kazakhstan and Russia.

All boxing fans know that I was born in Kazakhstan and spent my entire childhood there. And in the fourth grade he moved to Russia. I started kickboxing in the town of Ozyory (Moscow region) with Konstantin Vladimirovich Mironov. I became a world champion in this type of martial arts, after which I moved to the United States and already started my boxing career.

Yes, unfortunately you cannot go out with the Russian flag. So I would bring out two flags: Kazakhstan and Russia. Now I can only speak Kazakh… But even in this situation I found an alternative… (shows a flag (you can take a screenshot here)). I hope everyone enjoys this. This is the flag of my city Ozyory, but now it is already part of the Kolomna urban district. But before that, it was our Ozersky flag. And now I’m going to take it with me. Previously, my uniform was half the Kazakh flag and half the Russian flag. Now, in the second half, there will be the Ozersk flag. All that remains is to prove everything in the ring.

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