On July 20, a professional boxing evening will be held at the Live Arena. The highlight of the tournament will be an eight-round fight between two of the best Russian fighters, Vladimir Mineev and Magomed Ismailov.
This will be the third face-to-face fight between the fighters. The first two times Mineev and Ismailov met according to the rules of mixed martial arts: in 2018, a brilliant five-round battle ended in a draw, and three years later the fighters had a rematch, in which Vladimir won an early victory. After another three years, Mineev and Ismailov will meet again, but this time the basic kickboxer and the freestyle fighter will fight according to boxing rules.
Vladimir Mineev is an ideal kickboxer. In this sport, he became a European and world champion and held championship belts of leading organizations. And gradually Mineev managed to transfer the benefits of kickboxing to mixed martial arts, where he performed quite successfully. However, it will be much more difficult for him to adapt to professional boxing.
Why Ismailov is a drawback for opponents in boxing:
Ismailov is Russia’s most unsuitable boxer. Mineev has no chance in the ring.
In the ring, Vladimir will lose his main advantage: kicks. He will not be able to dry Ismailov’s legs with low kicks and will not be able to keep Maga at a distance with front kicks. And of course, this is a big loss for Mineev, as footwork was an important part of Vladimir’s style in both kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
Mineev is not particularly mobile on his feet, but in boxing speed and movement play an important role. Vladimir often stalls, and in boxing, where the ring is much smaller than the cage, the advantage in speed and agility will be on Ismailov’s side.
Fight between Magomed Ismailov and Vladimir Mineev
Photo by: FIGHT NIGHTS
Don’t forget that Mineev misses a lot. He has a strong jaw, but his defensive skills are not at the highest level. Remember how much Vladimir missed in the rematch with Ismailov – Mineev’s face was completely destroyed in three rounds. Yes, Magi ran out of gas in that fight and Vladimir finished the fight in his favor, but if the fight had continued, then Mineev could well have been knocked out of the fight due to multiple cuts.
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Given how Ismailov behaves in boxing matches, it will be difficult for Vladimir to contain Maga at a distance. The bald predator applies pressure, constantly reduces the distance and hits with extreme force. These blows, as Ismailov himself says, are “clumsy” and “collective farm”, but Maga takes a lot of blows. There will be no Thai clinch in the ring, in which Mineev would feel familiar and take strength from Magi, there will be no fight in which Ismailov can spend all his gas. In pure manual work, and even in short three-minute rounds with a minute’s rest, Maga feels comfortable and can work for a long time – with Shtyrkov, for example, Ismailov spent six full rounds.
Magi has more experience in boxing, he has already felt what it is like. Mineev still has to learn the intricacies of a new sport. What will be familiar to him are the big gloves with which he practices kickboxing. Everything else (timing, speed, specific features of boxing) will be new to him. Vladimir will be deprived of all the advantages that helped him in kickboxing and mixed martial arts, and it will be extremely difficult for him to adapt to his new discipline.
