Visiting fighters from Argentina, Poland, Nigeria, the UK, and Kansas (yes Kansas) will be fighting some of the best Russia has to offer?
I?ll be travelling to the Maritimes (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) on that date and that?s pretty neat, but if I could be in one other place, it would be ringside at the Basket-Hall Arena in Kazan, Russia.
Kazan, by the way, is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers. With a population of 1,143,535, it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. It is about 150 years older than Moscow and is known as the ?Istanbul of the Volga? with beauty and culture aplenty.
It so happens that there is a boxing venue on November 4 in Kazan and it looks to be a uniquely intriguing one. Visiting fighters from Argentina, Poland, Nigeria, the UK, and Kansas (yes Kansas) will be fighting some of the best Russia has to offer this side of SPECTRE. With nicknames like ?Fist,? ?Sasha,? ?White Lion,? ?Zar,? ?The Eagle,? ?The Machine,? and ?Hammer,? it?s a wonder the visitors will even show.
The combined won-loss record of those fighting on this marvelous venue is 283-15-8, with the Russian total at 130-4-1.
The only thing missing is Petrossian Caviar and some Stolichnaya Elit.
THE SPECIFICS
Kulakova (10-0-1) vs. Esteche (11-4-2)
Getting things started will be a mouthwatering tiff between the appropriately named Svetlana Kulakova (kulak means ?fist?) against Argentinean Ana Laura ?Little Blonde? Esteche?also known as ?La Monita.? At stake will be the WBA World female super lightweight title. ?La Monita? made mild news recently when she publicly came out as the partner of fellow female boxer Johana ?Yoki? Gimenez (3-3-1).
The last time these two met (also in Russia) they fought to a free-swinging draw but Kulakova was deducted a point in rounds 5 and 8 for Klitschko-like holding. Here is the YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgfkCsBPVt8
This one will be for Russian redemption as ?Fist? meets the ?Little Blonde.?
Afolabi (21-4-4) vs. Chakhkiev (24-1)
Rakhim ?The Machine? Chakiev is on an eight-fight win streak and might be intersecting with the well-traveled Ola ?Kryptonite? Afolabi (who amazingly once beat Orlin Norris way back in 2005) at just the right time. However, aside from nemesis Marco Huck, ?Kryptonite? can beat any cruiserweight on any given night. As a point of comparison, both have stoppage wins over rugged Valery Brudov. The heavy punching Chakhkiev floored Brudov in round three. Brudov suffered a bad cut in round four and then Chakhkiev brutally waxed him.
While Afolabi?s last outing?a 12-round loss to Victor Ramirez?does not bode well for him, Ola possesses a chin made of, well, Kryptonite, and an overhand right that can do serious damage if it connects. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDG362nTBd0
Here, he use the same signature overhand right to switch off the light on Enzo Maccarinelli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc1zIEyXf0Y
This should be 12 rounds or less of fan-friendly action.
Kudryashov (18-0) vs. Durodola (21-2)
The aptly-nicknamed Dmitry ?The Russian Hammer? Kudryashov is still another exciting monster from Eastern Europe and specializes in quick, spectacular and scary knockout wins. On April 10 in Moscow on the Denis Lebedev (speaking of scary) vs. Youri Kalenga undercard , he defended his WBA International cruiserweight title against Francisco Palacios who twice previously had gone the distance with former WBC World champ Krzysztof ?Diablo? Wlodarczyk and was supposed to present a major challenge for the ?Hammer.? The challenge lasted less than a minute as a monster left hook ended the fight spectacularly with Palacios on the canvas out cold and in prolonged distress when he awoke. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ3awmOdTHA
The Russian has won all of his fights by stoppage including a first round, 22-second one-punch knockout over Juan Carlos Gomez (55-3 and ice cold coming in) forcing Gomez to do a variation of the ?Trevor Berbick three-step.? Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TinPnZWpc3c
This time around, Kudryashov takes on Olanrewaju ?God?s Power? Durodola who hails from Kansas City by way of Nigeria. A close review of Duradola?s ledger suggest that notwithstanding his Andre Ward-type moniker, it will be more than daunting for him to leave with the vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title intact.
Color this one ?early knockout.?
Lebedev (27-2) vs. Kayode (21-0)
?The worst thing possible hasn?t happened yet.??Jim Lampley
Denis Lebedev is a heavy punching cruiserweight who is rarely in a dull fight. He has bounced back nicely from the shocking and savage beating he absorbed at the equally heavy hands of 8-1 underdog Panamanian Guillermo ?El Jefe? Jones in a May 2013 classic where the gritty Lebedev?s face was punched into bloody pulp. And to add to the surreal atmosphere of that fight?heightened by the scary mugs of both Lebedev and Jones?a spooky looking Don King was lurking ringside. Here is the brutal fight with Russian hip hop in the background. In particular, check it out at the 4:30 mark and also at the 50 second mark of round nine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xJIXETXLEw
The towering Jones tested positive for Furosemide after this fight. Later, in a display of uncommon hubris, there was the issue of the rematch where incredibly Jones again tested positive for the same substance in a pre-fight test
The following curious and implication-filled paragraph appears in Wikipedia:
?Denis Lebedev was left with a shocking eye injury after losing his WBA World cruiserweight title to Guillermo Jones. By the end of the bout, he could not see out of the injured eye but two judges had him winning 96-94 while the third had scored the bout 97-93 before he was knocked out in the eleventh round. According to most experts, Jones should have been winning clearly, and the suspicion is that the Russian Federation had fixed the bout. This would also explain the fact that the bout was not stopped, even after Lebedev?s eye was grotesquely disfigured. However, Jones was stripped of his title later in the year for failing a drug test for this fight, resulting in Lebedev being reinstated as Champion by the WBA despite the result not being overturned to a [N]. This is also considered highly suspect.? see: http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wba-strips-jones-lebedev-again-cruiser-champ-229048
Lateef ?Power? Kayode, who has wisely returned to the cruiserweight division, has also been on the victim side of PEDs. He was abruptly mugged, mauled and TKO?d by Cuban Luis Ortiz, aka The Real King Kong, in September 2014, but the outcome was changed to an ?N? after Ortiz failed a drug test. In June 2012, he and Antonio Tarver fought to a dreary draw but this one also was declared an ?N? because Tarver tested positive for Drostalonone Maseron, an ancillary steroid drug used to combat estrogenic side effects caused by mass-building steroids such as water retention.
The outcome of this fight could turn on who has grown older overnight.
Cuenca (48-0) vs. Troyanovsky (22-0)
?His record means nothing when he gets into the ring with me. Who cares if he has 46 or 47 wins???Yang Lianhui
Color this one very intriguing. Argentinean Cesar Rene Cuenca is scheduled to fight Russian Eduard ?The Eagle? Troyanovsky on November 4, 2015, with the IBF and IBO World super lightweight titles at risk. The powerful ?Eagle? has a KO percentage of 86% while Cuenca?s is a mindboggling 4%, yes, 4% but ?El Distinto,? as he is called, is an excellent defensive fighter and technician who knows how to do one thing very well; namely, win.
Cuenca is on the verge of matching Floyd Mayweather?s record of 49-0 but because he has done this without glitter or bling, he is virtually unknown. Said another way, ?El Distinto? will never be included in the killer group of recent Argentinean fighters like Martinez, Matthysse, and Maidana, but he could well exceed Mayweather as the one who reaches 50-0 first?yet be destined to wither on the vine of relative obscurity.
Touted and cocky Chinese prospect and Freddie Roach-trained Ik ?Wild Man? Yang (19-0) was surprisingly outclassed and tamed by the 34-year-old ?El Distinto? in his (Yang?s) unsuccessful challenge for the vacant IBF light welterweight title. Southpaw Cuenca was savvy, stylish and knew his way around the ring, as he used effective foot movement, an accurate jab and sharp combos to frustrate his Chinese opponent in Macau, even decking him in the first round. Cuenca himself hit the deck down in the 5th but won the decision by a wide margin.
The Main Event: Povetkin (29-1) vs. Wach (31-1)
?The recent success of European knockout artists Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev in capturing the American boxing public?s imagination means there is now a market for Povetkin to break into.??John O?Donovan
?After watching the last fights of Povetkin and Wilder, I think Povetkin beats him.??Jason Gavern.
It?s time for Alexander ?Sasha? Povetkin to face giant Pole Mariusz ?The Viking? Wach in what could be a precursor for a Povetkin-Wilder fight given Wach?s height of 6?7??. The globe-trotting Wach has won four straight against okay opposition since being badly butchered by Wladimir Klitschko in November 2112.
The broad-shouldered Povetkin, a huge hero in Russia and former WBA World heavyweight champion, has won three in a row since being beaten by a holding and mugging Klitschko in 2013. The combined record of Povetkin?s last three opponents coming in was 77-3-2. Many of his earlier opponents came in either undefeated or with just one loss. He is a physically strong, hard hitting, and skilled pressure fighter who blends boxing ferocity with humility outside the ring. Adding to his charisma, or mystique if you will, Povetkin has declared himself a rodnover and wears a Perun axe necklace and has the star of Rus tattoo.
Sasha won the world title, as well as Athens Olympic gold, and finished 125-7 as an amateur with all his losses avenged. He also has worked out with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and was wanted by all of the world?s top promoters when he turned professional. At 35, he is now at a point where it is make or break for him in terms of becoming heavyweight champion and a crossover star, and if he beats Wach, the pressure will mount on WBC champion Deontay Wilder to stand and deliver.
Of this potential match, Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook says, ?Maybe Povetkin deserves to be the favorite in this matchup, if and when it happens. But this isn?t some Mayweather-Berto situation, or Klitschko-anyone. It?s a better fight than you might believe, and I don?t see an inevitable outcome.?
A Wilder-Povetkin fight would be mega in an era filled with big ones.
As for Wach, based on a comparative analysis, it appears the Pole may be in for a long?or maybe short?night.
Ted Sares is one of the world?s oldest active power lifters and holds several world and state records. He enjoys writing about boxing.
