Alexey Tishchenko is a Russian amateur boxing legend. He twice became an Olympic champion, was repeatedly a world, European and Russian champion. On February 11, 2011, Tishchenko announced the end of his sports career, but he did not lose his passion for boxing. Alexey continues to develop his favorite sport. And now he is at the Russian boxing championship in Khabarovsk. We talked with the famous fighter and found out the attitude to the possible fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, the strongest boxing school and the main problems facing this sport.
– Whose boxing school is stronger now, given that we took third place in the world men’s championship, and, moreover, the list of participants was incomplete?– The Uzbek boxing school is very strong, it shows good results at the world championships and at the Olympic Games. Cuban boxers are traditionally very good, diverse and interesting. Well, we are of course in the top three.
Alexey Tishchenko
Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS
– Are you looking forward to the fight between Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith?– Yes, sure. Arthur is a staunch favourite, but chances are he’ll still see it. Though I don’t think Callum Smith is going to put up some kind of crazy resistance to Arthur.
– Many experts are sure that Beterbiev’s age is beginning to affect, he also had surgery. Wouldn’t that interfere?– It seems to me that Smith is not the right opponent to be able to use these factors, although they exist. He won’t create much competition.
– In case of victory, Beterbiev can meet Dmitry Bivol. Umar Kremlev said that he did not want to see such a fight because they are both Russians. What do you think of this poster?– On the one hand, in such a fight, the Russian boxer will definitely win and become the owner of the title of absolute world champion in light heavyweight. He collects all the belts; It would be great to have a champion like that. On the other hand, I still don’t want our athletes, Russians, to box with each other. One of them will then receive the first defeat. Let them go their own way, beat foreigners. The time will come, one of them will be the first to start the race. It’s probably Beterbiev, he’s older. Well, then he lets Bivol get the title of absolute champion.
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– Russia is in full order at light heavyweight, but in many professional categories we have nothing to brag about. Why is this happening?– We do not have a complete order in all categories, and it cannot be, it seems to me. There is always something to fight for. This is probably the generation, maybe the next one will be stronger.
In addition, international problems have been added, and the situation with competitions has also become more complicated for professional boxers. This is one of the reasons why it’s hard for guys to get to the top. We have talented young people, time will pass and they will already be at the top. You need to wait.
Also, the transformation from an amateur boxer to a professional takes some time.
– And which of our boxers do you think is the most promising in the context of professional boxing?– Probably, Khataev, his way of fighting is somewhat similar to Beterbiev’s, taking into account, of course, the difference in experience. He is such a tough and forceful guy that I think he can do anything. It seems to me that in professionals the style of power fighting is very important, you need a strong knockout, you cannot do without it. Yes, there are exceptions, like Usyk himself, there is pure talent, but without a knockout it is very difficult. Of the promising ones, I will also name Vsevolod Shumkov, if he proves himself as a professional, then something can work out. I like Ilya Popov, he has already competed in professional fights and quite successfully. A technical boxer who also knows how to hit very hard.
Alexey Tishchenko
Photo: vk.com/rusboxing
– Will you watch the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois?– No, Alexander does not interest me at all. I will not look. Because? Because of his comments. I used to watch it, now I don’t anymore.
– Is Usyk a clear favourite?– Of course, with a wide margin. It seems to me that Alexander will win without problems, the boxers are too different levels. The duel in general is not interesting from a sporting point of view, it involves athletes of different classes and there will not be much competition there. The only question is whether Usyk will win ahead of schedule or not.
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– What do you think of the idea of a super winter tournament with Usyk, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua?– This is very interesting, if everything goes well I will observe it. The best heavyweights in the world, against each other – it sounds as attractive as possible. But the Usyk-Fury fight will be mostly interesting, one of them needs to unify the titles. Two champions, and even with completely different styles… It’s hard to name a favourite. Whoever can better adapt to the rival, he will win. Both boxers are top notch. Fury is a very unusual fighter, can Usyk find a way to get close to him? Tyson is tall, fast and can hit hard. That is where the intrigue lies. This fight is interesting for all boxing fans.
