The correspondent talked with Russian boxer, 2020 Olympic champion Albert Batyrgaziev about Tokyo gold, star rivals in the light weight category, an invitation to the Kremlin, the true reasons for refusing to «fight» with the figure skater Alina Zagitova and much more.
«9-0»
— More than a week passed since your ninth professional fight. How hard is the recovery right now? After all, the fight lasted the entire distance and was, as it seemed, not easy.- Everything is fine … But as such, there was no hard fight. He spent ten sparring rounds, didn’t miss a lot of blows, and there were no injuries. Now I try to keep fit, do easy jogging. I take a break from boxing, spend time with my family and mentally and psychologically charge myself for the next preparation. . Is it because you didn't manage to knock out the opponent? There were certain moments that we worked out. But not to the end, development was not enough.
— The question that was asked to Floyd Mayweather and Khabib Nurmagomedov and is still being asked to every undefeated athlete: does the zero in the «defeat» column crush?
— Come on! I have only nine fights, far from such reasoning. No pressure, I don't even count the record — I concentrate on other things.
Olympic Legacy
Two years have passed since the triumph at the 2020 Games. Do you often think back to Tokyo and replay those cool moments in your head? preparation. Although I don’t particularly want to remember these difficulties: painstaking work, every day the same thing. The main thing is that they performed and returned with a gold medal. The hard work has paid off, which makes me happy. And when I remember, I do this (wipes the sweat from his forehead with his hand).
— The happiest day?
— No, why not? They were also happier. But significant for sure.
— How did you receive the telegram from the president? > I saw it on the news. It turns out that at first I read it not personally, but in the media.
— And then, after returning to Russia, you were at a reception in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. Worried?
— Yes, it was exciting. Then I thought about my teammates: «The wrestler Abdulrashid Sadulaev already has the second Olympics (with gold) — it will be easier for him (to speak from the podium).» Such thoughts were … But nothing, they gave the word — he said everything as it is. That support was felt, all conditions were created so that the athletes did not need anything, prepared, went and won.
— How has life changed after winning the Games?< /strong- Wikipedia has a line that I am an Olympic champion (smiles). Do they recognize you on the street? Recognized before the Olympics. There are enough boxing fans, but I would like them to be even more.
— What is your goal now to outshine the Olympic gold?
br>- Victory at the Games — a springboard to professional boxing. And there you have to become a world champion, such a status will eclipse the gold of the Olympics. Not even discussed.
The title of the absolute champion
— In one of your recent interviews, you spoke about the desire to fight with Vasily Lomachenko. Do you think the already middle-aged Ukrainian will wait for you at the top?- Anything is possible, making predictions is a thankless task. I am interested in Lomachenko in his boxing style, he is not like the others. He sets the pace, delivers a lot of strong blows, and what an experience he has… Two Olympic gold medals.
— Vassily's last fight turned into a judicial scandal. Did he really lose to Devin Haney?
— He didn't lose, but he didn't win either. I didn't finish it a bit, so I would give it a draw. To defeat the absolute world champion, you need to do more: dominate, do not stop aggressive boxing.
— Lomachenko, Haney and another undefeated American Gervonta Davis — would a meeting with one of the best lightweights be a dream fight for Albert Batyrgaziev?
— The duel with the reigning undisputed world champion (Haney), the names don't interest me. If it will be interesting to the viewer: demand creates supply.
Will I be able to «disassemble» Haney? Give me time to prepare and a date — we'll sort it out, no problem.2023 is becoming the year of thwarted superfights. Beterbiev vs. Bivol, Usyk vs. Fury — we may never see all these fights, the parties will not agree in any way. Don't you think that the disruption of such posters seriously affects boxing? sports, fans are waiting for such fights. What can we say about fighters who lose motivation.
Who would win in these confrontations? The tendril will «disassemble» thanks to accuracy, technique and tactics. But here each blow can be the last — I will refrain from naming an obvious winner. As for the fight between Bivol and Beterbiev, I, as a fan, would not like to see it. They are my compatriots, two champions — let them both have the belt. Why not try to change the weight category, go up and down and start taking titles from others. There are many fighters in the world, professional boxing is not the championship of Russia, where there is a selection. You can go in all directions and collect belts — there will be more champions in the country. Yes, and the fans of our boxers will not have to push.
— Tyson Fury, by the way, is preparing to meet with the former UFC champion < strong>Francis Ngannou. Doesn't the noise around such shows harm professional boxing? More precisely, he will return to boxing. When the UFC was just getting started, fans fled to where there was blood and spectacle. So yes, I see the positives.
— We continue the parade of strange announcements: for the second month now, a potential fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg has been resonating. Something close to pop-MMA.
— Heard about this fight, but did not go into details. Let them fight, I have nothing against it. The main thing is that their health is not affected.
Usyk VS Dubois- Oleksandr Usyk's fight will be the main boxing event of August. Does Briton Daniel Dubois have a chance against an unbeaten Ukrainian? Climbing to the top is not as hard as staying on it. Usyk's second defense is not easy. But Dubois goes up against the champion: if he succeeds, he succeeds, if not, he has nothing to lose. .jpg» /- Two wins over Joshua made experts talk about Usyk as one of the best, if not the best heavyweight of our time. What is the secret of the Ukrainian invulnerability?
— During the battle it is very difficult to get close to him. But it’s wrong to talk about invulnerability: for every strong person there is someone stronger. It's a matter of time.
— Not so long ago, Usyk caused a furor with a statement about the desire to become president of Ukraine. Will such «unsportsmanlike» goals harm the concentration of an active boxer?
— Everything is individual here. Maybe it's a tactic to distract yourself.
Outside the ring
— Many athletes have a satiety in sports. As an example, I will cite goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, who does not watch football at home at all. What can you say about yourself: how often do you watch boxing fights?
— If you have time, of course, I watch. And I enjoy. But not when I am preparing for fights: there is no free time there, I try to save emotions, as they will be needed in battle.
As for the UFC, MMA fights are also interesting to me. Three fighters that you could get up early in the morning to watch live? Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, Muhammad Mokaev from flyweight. I will also name a fighter from Bellator, whom I recently met — Alexander Shabliy. Once raised the topic of fights that never took place. The main fight of 2022 — Albert Batyrgaziev against Alina Zagitova — fell through due to your injury …
— You put it wrong. We were supposed to have an open training session, where I would teach Alina the elements of boxing. The next morning, when I woke up, I saw that thanks to certain people — I will not mention their profession — we were given a fight. Do you understand how it sounds? If you came, how would it be promoted and what headlines would it be?
We originally had an agreement on an open training session for a figure skater, that's how it happened. You have bad information.
— It turns out that the journalists incorrectly presented the newsbreak?
— Of course. It did not work, because everything came to a «professional fight». Master class, open training — that's how it should have sounded.
— I think this is nothing more than a promotion. Two-time Olympic boxing champion Oleg Saitov eventually «fought» with Zagitova, but there was just an open training.
— I was not there. If I were, everything would be presented differently.