The first fight between Shlemenko and Tokov took place in 2018 in New York at the Bellator 208 tournament, where Fedor Emelianenko defeated Chael Sonnen in the main fight of the evening. Tokov then won by decision. Then Anatoly had six more fights, including the title fight with Johnny Eblen, in which he was defeated.
Shlemenko was more active both in speeches and in the media: he fought 13 times (9 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw) and gave many high-profile interviews. This year, the RCC league began working on a rematch, but Tokov began to say that it was not important for him to fight Shlemenko. Alexander responded that if Tokov didn’t care who he fought, he could try to get another fight in Russia. The RCC reported sending contracts to the fighters and learned from Shlemenko what would happen next.
— The RCC promotion announced that they have sent you and Tokov contracts for the fight. Does this mean that the fight with Anatoly is a foregone conclusion?
— It’s difficult to say at the moment, because I’m not the only one to decide this question. I’ve had better offers from RCC than this one. But unfortunately, for various reasons, they have taken a back seat.
– Could you name someone?
-Gegard Mousasi. That’s where we started the conversation. Then there was Vladimir Mineev, Magomed Ismailov remained on the horizon, but that was around the time we were talking about a possible fight this summer. There were also negotiations, but it would be better if Nikolai Klimenko spoke about it so that I would not be the transmitter. There were two other contenders, pretty interesting opponents who fought in the UFC. And their names are significantly stronger than Tokov’s. And most importantly, these were people who were interested in talking with me, but until now, they hadn’t gotten around to it. But Tolya is not interested yet.
— Let’s say my name is Nikolay Klimenko, what should I do to get you to sign a contract for a fight with Tokov?
— I would like to hear about some interest from Anatoly. From Nikolai’s side, I see this interest, but Tokov, as I understand it, cannot formulate anything: it is not even clear whether he needs it or not.
— Why do you need Anatoly’s interest? Why not look at this as an opportunity to go out, fight and make some money?
– Yes, I just want to make a fight that would interest people. But if the fighter himself is not interested in it, how can it interest the public? I am accused of arguing with Kuat Khamitov. But there was understandable interest among spectators and fighters. And with an attitude like Anatoly’s, interest in the fight could turn out to be zero. If Klimenko asked me, I could help him find a more interested fighter. This is not the first day we are here, we have a matchmaker in the championship, Alexei Gritsko, who can work in this direction. And there will be options. You can always search for available fighters in the top 100 rankings; everyone knows them.
— Someone will say that the Tokov vs. Shlemenko fight is a sign that does not need to be promoted.
– This is absurd. Why is this sign suddenly like you say? Why is this sign better than the Shlemenko-Khamitov, Ilic-Millender sign? Here is a sign of Shlemenko against Mineev or Shlemenko against Ismailov – yes.
You saw the Tokov interview. So I ask you a question: did you see an interest or a spark there?
— It’s difficult to hear Anatoly say that he wants to fight with you.
“And I don’t want to work for him either.” If he wants to go out and fight, let him go fight in amateur competitions. And it’s professional sport. In any fight there are two people and they have to work. But when only one works and the second does nothing, but receives even more money than for any other fight, it seems to me that it is wrong. Also, if you work alone, even in general, it won’t work very well. You can’t do all the work here alone. And I want to get some satisfaction from my efforts. And not so that the second person says in response: “Why do I need this ?! »
— So you are in this period of your career where it is difficult to be motivated solely by money?
– Certainly. Are you saying that if you put Anatoly and me on the scale, we have the same media weight? I have my own promotion, I have a place to fight, I can organize fights for myself and Tokov is looking for a place to fight. I’m now in a slightly different weight class: I’m a public figure, or even, as we like to say, a blogger, a team leader. Are there other examples of current fighters doing the same thing? And when everything is measured only by the motivation to make money… I can answer this: whether it is Tokov, or Khamitov, or Mineev, or Musashi, my money does not change. Or even if it’s an unknown person. If they had told me they would give twice as much money for Tokov, that would be a different question. But that doesn’t exist.
“If Tokov writes on social media: “Alexander Shlemenko, stop being afraid, let’s fight this fight.” Will this be the right step for him?
– This will amuse me. What should I be afraid of? That they will keep me close to the net, safe behind my back? I just want to hear the person say they need it. To answer the question: “Anatoly, do you need this?” he didn’t answer: “Well, I don’t know, I don’t care as much as I used to.” I want the person to say, “I’m interested.”
— What ultimately determines whether or not you sign a contract for a fight with Tokov?
— I have good relations with the RCC, good relations with Igor Alekseevich Altushkin. And personally, the RCC organization promised me a fight on December 14 at the start of the year, when we will discuss my two performances in 2024. My fight will therefore take place anyway. I don’t know if the Tokov fight will happen. That’s why I don’t expect anything, I don’t care at all. I have an agreement and a date. December 14, I fight. And I wish there was a person with me who was interested in this and didn’t just say they want money.
— Are you training now and are you planning to fight in a month and a half?
– Yes, consider that I have started the preparations.
— You started working with a physical trainer. Can you tell me what tests you test yourself with? How are your indicators evolving?
— I wouldn’t say these are direct tests, let’s say I’m working on an airbike, and it shows everything clearly. For example, you need to cover three kilometers and the indicator will be the time it will take you to cover them. Or another test: how fast you can spin it up to a certain speed. These are the things I watch for. The same pull-ups or pull-ups with extra weight are also an indicator.
When I entered the Siberian State University of Physical Culture at the age of 18, I had to do 25 pull-ups. What is important is strict and correct pull-ups. Then, for five years, while they were specializing, I remained at the same level. And now that I’m 40, I can go to the bar and do 25 strict pull-ups. But now we’ve started adding weighted pull-ups.
– What is the maximum weight with which you can do one repetition?
— I did pull-ups with a weight of 25 kg about 8 to 10 times. And if we take the maximum weight… It happened that my two sons – Sasha and Svyatoslav – clung to me and I did pull-ups with them three times. One then weighed 20 to 22 kg and the other 15.
— Shara Bullet had a very brilliant fight in your weight category. You rarely talk about other fighters, but have you paid attention to his fight? Or some of his comments before the fight? Plus, he stunned his opponent with a modernized version of your favorite move.
“I didn’t follow his interview, but, as far as I remember, even when we discussed our fight a little, he addressed me with a lot of respect. I can point that out. His performance was such that it probably couldn’t have been better. He showed a new move, showed it to the world and made sure that this episode would continue to pay dividends for him in the future. We can only congratulate him for this.
— Have you tried hitting a double punch at least once (roundhouse punch – ).
— Honestly, never, but now it makes sense to try.
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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.
