2016 Olympic champion, 2015 world champion and double European amateur champion Yevgeny Tishchenko (13-1, KO 8) On December 9 in Dubai, he eliminated the German Leon Hart (22-6-1, KO 13) in the sixth round and won the vacant WBA belt in the new weight category up to 101 .6 kg.
Tishchenko became the first Russian boxer who managed to win both the gold medal at the Games and a full-fledged professional title. Additionally, Tishchenko, 32, became the third Russian to currently hold the world champion title. Since 2017, this status has been held by Dmitry Bivol (WBA light heavyweight champion) and Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBC, WBO light heavyweight champion). The last time Russia had more than two champions was 2019, when Sergey Kovalev held the WBO light heavyweight belt before meeting Saul Alvarez.
The correspondent managed to talk to Tishchenko immediately after his triumph in Dubai, and then we contacted the titled boxer upon his return to Russia. From this interview you can learn:
— Is Tishchenko at risk of star fever?
– who he wants to see as his next opponent;
— what are the chances in the Egorov-Asbarov confrontation;
— Will Bivol and Beterbiev fight?
“YET I WANT TO REST, I’M TIRED”
— Evgeniy, how does the professional world champion feel?
—Honestly, I’m resting and recuperating for now. But I’m proud of myself. Everything I overcame, endured… I achieved my goal. I turned professional with the goal of becoming world champion, and I became that. Now I am more proud of myself than ever.
— Compare these feelings with how you felt after winning the gold medal at the 2016 Games?
– It’s completely different. There was life there, now it’s different. Both cases had their difficulties and I am proud that I was able to overcome them all. I am proud of those around me. I would like to thank everyone who helped me. Today, I am WBA world champion. And I want to rest a little.
— Is star fever possible?
– (Laughs). Absolutely not. It’s not about me at all. I’ve told you in interviews, hard work always pays off. You must move deliberately towards your goal, the opportunity will certainly present itself.
— The most interesting and mundane question is: what’s next?
— I want to relax, take care of everyday problems and also take care of my health. I spoke with Oleg Vladimirovich Menshikov – maybe I will go to a training camp with Torpedo in the new year. There I will train with the guys and stay in my homeland in Kanevskaya (Krasnodar Territory), where I have parents and relatives. And the belt defense will probably take place in the spring (RCC Boxing Promotions CEO German Titov told that Tishchenko’s next fight is scheduled for May and Alexey Egorov is considered an opponent). In the meantime, I want to rest, I’m tired.
“BEFORE THE FIGHT WITH HART, THERE WERE A LOT OF DIFFICULTIES”
—Who would you like to see as your next opponent?
— Alexei Egorov should now become first in the WBA rankings in the weight category up to 101.6 kg. It is entirely possible to organize a meeting with him. Among Russian boxers he is a priority. As for Soslan Asbarov, I don’t know. Do they want it, what will it look like…I’m ready for any fight. A fight with Egorov would be interesting for Russian spectators.
— Asbarov and Egorov talked about the possibility of organizing a face-to-face meeting this summer. How will their fight take place?
– In this case, making a forecast is a thankless task. But it would be interesting. I rate the odds at 50 to 50. Egorov is a higher level boxer, but Asbarov is now on the move and in his prime. If Asbarov manages to win, which he managed to do against Alexey Papin and Dmitry Kudryashov… It will be a very big story.
— How many messages did you receive after the fight with Hart?
– Well, a lot. My fight was broadcast on the federal channel “”. Everyone saw that I became a champion. There’s a lot of support, which is good. THANKS! And I am very happy that there are people around me who are with me after the victories as well as after the defeats. So I don’t live in vain.
— Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, Petr Yan watched your title showdown with their own eyes.
“When I entered the ring, I didn’t see anyone. I was abstracted from it. But the fact that IBA managed to organize such a show, which is talked about everywhere… It’s very cool. It was the first time I participated in such a story.
— What do you think of people who are skeptical about the WBA belt in this new weight category?
“These people will always be skeptical about many things. Once again, I am proud of the work I have accomplished. I managed to win the belt. Certainly, there were many difficulties before this fight. Honestly, I don’t want to go into details, let’s leave this as inside information. The fact that I was able to get in the ring and win the belt is a very big victory for me.
“BIVOL AND BETERBIEV HAVE A DUAL FACIAL”
— I will repeat my words spoken in our conversation immediately after winning the belt – not everything went well in the fight. That’s an understatement.
“I will definitely watch the fight more than once.” I admit that it certainly wasn’t my best performance. But considering all the circumstances, I am very happy with this result. Furthermore. Now I will sort everything out and we will show ourselves more brilliantly in battles.
— Today, Russia has three professional champions.
“It’s a great honor for me to be one of them.” We must continue to prove our worth.
— The other two Russian champions own all the light heavyweight belts. Do you believe that Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev will one day fight for the title of absolute world champion?
– I think they will have a duel. As far as I know, Saudi Arabia is interested in this fight. Now they have to fight, and if they win, a face-to-face meeting will be in the cards again. I think Bivol and Beterbiev should win. Although the two are far from simple opponents (Callum Smith – Beterbiev, Lyndon Arthur – Bivol). Arthur will have a particularly tough fight because Smith is a game plan boxer. I wish the guys victories, and then we will wait for their face-off. The fight between Bivol and Beterbiev is a high-profile showdown for world boxing.
***
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, KO 11), 33, will defend his belt on December 23 in Saudi Arabia against Briton Lyndon Arthur (23-1, KO 16), eighth in the WBA. Artur Beterbiev, 38 (19-0, KO 19), will meet WBC mandatory challenger Briton Callum Smith (29-1, KO 21), who previously held the WBA super belt, on January 13 in Quebec, Canada. -means.
Live broadcasts of professional boxing tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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.
