World, European and Asian kickboxing champion, star of M-1 tournaments Konstantin Glukhov On April 28 in Ulyanovsk, he will fight according to the rules of kickboxing with one of the most famous Russian MMA fighters, the AMC Fight Nights middleweight champion, kickboxer Vladimir Mineev.
In addition, Latvian Glukhov is now actively seeking Russian citizenship. And it was about the fight with Mineev and the desire to benefit Russia even after his career that 44-year-old Konstantin Glukhov spoke with a correspondent.
“I immediately agreed to fight with Mineev”
“I am fighting with a very good opponent,” Glukhov began speaking to . — Vladimir Mineev is a famous and strong fighter, he is on an invincibility streak.
We have to show a good fight. I’m already a little over twenty years old (laughs)… I have a family, a child, and I consider combat as a job. And I want to earn money for the work I do so my family doesn’t go hungry. The fight with Mineev is an interesting challenge. I will try to do something good – please the viewer with a spectacular fight.
— What is your priority in the confrontation with Mineev – a sporting challenge or a financial aspect?
“I won’t make something up and say money isn’t important.” They are of course important. I don’t just think about myself, but also about my family. Money therefore plays an important role.
However, from a sporting point of view, it is very interesting to fight with such a strong opponent. He is younger than me and perhaps even more motivated than me because he fights at home. Everything overlaps well, so it’s difficult to answer this question unambiguously. I immediately accepted the fight with Mineev.
— What do you think of Mineev’s sporting activities? In September 2023, Vladimir announced that he had become a deputy of the Donetsk People’s Council and since February last year had been in the zone of the Northern Military District.
“I respect him a lot for that.” When I had an MMA fight in Ulyanovsk last year, Volodya was there. I told him, “I really respect your choice. » If my life had gone like this, I would have gone there too. But I haven’t succeeded yet and it’s still impossible. I workout.
[Отсутствие систематических профильных тренировок] That shouldn’t mean anything, Volodya has a lot of baggage, he has a lot of fights. I’m sure he’ll come into the fight in good shape and we’ll have a good fight.
— What is your most memorable fight with Vladimir Mineev?
— Probably with Maga (in October 2018, the confrontation between Mineev and Ismailov ended in a draw, and in October 2021, the first won a quick victory; this fight remains the last in Mineev’s MMA career. — Note “”). But it was in MMA, and now we have kickboxing, where Volodya took a break, only over the last year and a half he began to actively fight in kickboxing.
—How do you plan to win?
— It’s difficult to predict. I always give all my strength in the ring, I invest as much as possible in the preparation. To be honest, you’re never 100% ready. But if you are 90-95% ready, then you will do well in combat. I will do my best now. I will try to demonstrate my strengths and put aside my weaknesses.
“Media support facilitates the process of obtaining Russian citizenship”
— How is your process of obtaining Russian citizenship going?
– Great. Just I took my exams on April 11 in Russian, as funny as it may sound. But I share this approach: to obtain citizenship, you must know the language of that country. Even though Russian is my mother tongue, I still have to pass it formally. And I managed to do it – both in grammar, history and legislation. Now I’ll go find the appropriate crust.
I wrote on my social networks on March 12 that I had received returnee status in Russia. This is a new document that came into force in January. And with this document I can directly apply for citizenship. All the documents are ready, all that remains is to wait some more.
— Do you have any idea of the timing?
—I can’t even say it hypothetically. This is still a new document. I think three months to six months.
— Do you think media support has helped and continues to make the process of obtaining citizenship easier?
– Certainly. When I was in temporary asylum last year and applied for citizenship, I immediately spoke about it on my Telegram channel, and this information was picked up by good resources, the police in the person of Irina Volk and deputies. MP Andrei Medvedev helped me a lot. The story was promoted and I was granted returnee status, which speeds up the process of obtaining citizenship. Nowadays, promotion in the media and on the Internet helps a lot.
— As a result, before the fight with Mineev, they will talk about you even more.
— I always say that I am Russian. My family and I moved to Russia last year and would like to link our destiny with Russia. I am a Russian person. I am convinced that I can help the country in terms of sport.
— How did Latvia react to your decision?
“I don’t think they read much.” They don’t care. There their task is different… They want to show on all sides that Russia is an enemy and some kind of terrible beast.
Generally, they didn’t react at all. And unfortunately, there is little knowledge out there. The relatives who remained there supported me.
— What do you plan to do after finishing your career?
— I repeat, we moved to Russia last year and we will live here. Russia is our home. My daughter went to school, then to college. My wife is trying to start working.
I am an athlete and I connect my career with sports. This could be coaching. I haven’t elaborated on this yet, but maybe I’ll work at some sort of fight club. After all, I am not only a kickboxer, but I have also participated in MMA competitions, there have been boxing fights, I can somehow supervise all this.
Today, due to the political situation, work in military structures is in demand. You can practice certain combat techniques there. I can hit hard… But sitting in the office in front of the computer or the courier… Well, that’s not my thing, and I’ve been playing sports for many years.
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Great interview Vladimir Minev in preparation for the April 28 fight in Ulyanovsk and about a year in the SVO can be read here.
Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts 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.
