2020 Olympic champion Russian boxer Albert Batyrgaziev in a conversation with , he expressed hope that Cuban Lazaro Álvarez will not look for excuses after their fight.
Batyrgaziev and Alvarez will challenge for the first-ever IBA championship belt on December 9 in Dubai at the IBA Night of Champions tournament. The fight weighing up to 60 kg is designed for 10 rounds. Batyrgaziev, ranked sixth in the WBA lightweight category, has 10 victories in the professional ring. Alvarez, a multiple Olympic medalist and three-time world champion, has six professional victories to his name.
— You literally fought in mid-October and now you’re going to get in the ring again.
– While this is happening, we have to do this. I rested for less than two weeks and started preparations on November 2. I started in Moscow and the main training takes place at the Yug-Sport base in Sochi.
We faced Alvarez three times in Olympic boxing. I lost to him twice, but in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics I managed to take revenge. But we have never met professionally, and it will be something strong, powerful and new. It will be interesting – don’t miss it. Of course, this fight is fundamental, we know each other well.
— Do you agree that Olympic boxing and professional boxing are completely different things? Yes, and you are different from the current version of the Tokyo Games.
– Maybe. But this must be judged from the outside. We try to improve every day, we do not stand still, our rivals do not sleep.
— Do you have a message for Lazaro Alvarez?
“We recorded a message for him beforehand so that he could prepare as best as possible, because there would be a war in the ring. But outside the ring, there is only friendship, I treat all my opponents with respect. And there will be a war in the ring, and that’s exactly the message I sent him – for him to be ready, for there to be no more excuses later, for him to be in the best conditions. If I’m not mistaken, he has six wins and no losses as a professional, and that’s enticing. Why doesn’t he give Albert Batyrgaziev his zero? – Batyrgaziev told .
Batyrgaziev and Alvarez met three times in Olympic boxing, and the score of their confrontation was in favor of the Cuban. Alvarez emerged victorious in a match-match in 2018 and the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Championship, and Batyrgaziev beat a Cuban boxer in the semifinals of the 2020 Games.
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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.