13.02.07 – By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: One of my favorite arguments regarding boxing revolves around the question of “what is the best way for a fighter to lose a fight.” Of course, I don’t hold an extreme viewpoint to either end, be it a loss via a quick KO (but the loser going all out, i.e. Wladimir Klitschko/Sanders) or a tedious decision loss like the one the subject of this interview suffered against Calvin Brock this past year.
Perhaps it is a bit unfair to Timor that the discussion starts on such a negative note, but nevertheless, it is important because to this point that loss is the one thing that defines him to most boxing fans. The matter in which a fighter losses creates a certain image and can even allow relatively mediocre fighters gain a money making following. Consider the absolute one-sided nature in which Arturo Gatti or Mickey Ward lost some of their fights and then consider that they have had more televised bouts then some elite fighters obviously a class above them.
Even though Timor Ibragimov didn’t take anything close to major punishment in his bout with Brock, he still gets more hate for it then do guys who have been brutally knocked out. Although I and perhaps even Timor himself can understand this sentiment but what would a person do in a situation where he knows “it’s a bad night” but he still has to climb in the ring against a top contender and earn a living?
Is that an excuse or a way of painting over the “bad” performance against Brock?
Maybe it is but because as you shall see in this interview Timor knows he has something to prove, and because he is willing to take on a great contender in Tony Thompson, without a tune up, next Friday on Fox Sports net, maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Last November, I had the chance to look at Timor working in the gym and from what I have seen I think its fair to say that even if in the worst case Thompson is the better fighter, it won’t be because Timor messed up by hiring Billy Blanks to train him or slacked off in putting in the prep work.
I know why Thompson is the favorite in the fight, and based on Ibragimov’s poor showing against Brock, that is a fair reaction, but if Timor can bring that gym intensity into the fight, maybe he can buy back his reputation from the fans. Maybe it will be worthwhile to show some support to a guy coming off a bad fight and a bad night, because at the very least he is not afraid to challenge the better opponents and train the way we would expect elite fighters to.
Slava: First off, tell us what you know about your next opponent Tony Thompson?
Timor Ibragimov: Yes, we were just looking at some of his tapes. I know that he is a damn good boxer, a great boxer, in fact, with a good beard, a constant tight defense, who can move well in the ring and punch a lot. Basically, he is one of the elite fighters at heavy today.
Slava: Which of his fights did you see?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, the last one against Guinn, then against Martinez and two more but I don’t remember who the opponents were exactly.
Slava: Can you tell what you will try to do in order to win?
Timor Ibragimov: No, it’s better not to talk about it. We’ll see what happens in the ring.
Slava: After the Brock fight, many fans are doubting your abilities and probably think Thompson will be the better man and win. Do you think it is fair, as a fan, to have such an opinion?
Timor Ibragimov: I think so because against Brock, I wasn’t able to prove my potential. Now it’s a different fight, and I have a different training regimen and I hope that I am able to show what I am capable of doing.
Slava: Why was the bout against Brock so unsuccessful?
Timor Ibragimov: I don’t know exactly, but maybe it was because there was a lot at stake, and also it was very hot outside, which took its toll, too. So maybe that factored into it, but really, as I said it might have been the thought that the next fight is a championship bout against Klitschko and that might have been a distraction. Still, as they say, even Napoleon lost a few battles.
Slava: Do you think this negative opinion fans have from the Brock fight will force you to prove yourself to the boxing public?
Timor Ibragimov: Of course, and not even so much to the public but really I have to prove something to myself.
Slava: Do you think that because of the Brock fight, Thompson will not take you that seriously as an opponent?
Timor Ibragimov: Of course not. I think that he is the type of boxer who regards every opponent very seriously. I don’t think that the bout with Brock will distract him and he will most likely train very seriously for this fight. It’s evident from the tapes I saw that even against weaker opposition, he fights with a lot of focus, and is also equally well prepared for the weaker as well as stronger opponents.
Slava: Were you surprised by Brock’s loss to Wladimir Klitschko?
Timor Ibragimov: Honestly, no. I was sure that Wladimir would win. However, I didn’t think that Brock would have such a good deal of success in the early rounds and even look quite decent. If he would have continued to work the body like he did in the beginning, perhaps the outcome would have been in doubt.
Slava: Yes, I agree, in the opening rounds, he had his success on the inside.
Timor Ibragimov: Yeah, but even so, I was sure that Klitschko would win. I didn’t think it would be competitive, and thought Wladimir would win via knockout after a completely dominant 7 or 8 round fight.
Slava: Do you think Brock will be easier to beat after this type of loss?
Timor Ibragimov: I don’t know but I think we’ll see after his next fight.
Slava: You think you could beat him if he agrees to a rematch?
Timor Ibragimov: If the opportunity will arise, I will be ready. In fact, I’m ready now.
Slava: What are your thoughts on Vitali Klitschko’s return to boxing?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, what can I say? I think it’s a positive thing. A good fighter has gone back to work, and because of that, we will have many good fights. Interest in the heavyweight division will grow because of it and that only makes me happy. Also, I mean whatever they may say about Uzbeks and Ukrainians, we are still united somehow and that makes his return even better.
Slava: The Klitschko brothers claim they will never fight each other. If the money and interest would be there, would you fight Sultan?
Timor Ibragimov: No, never.
Slava: Do you ever spar?
Timor Ibragimov: In the very beginning, we sparred for a time but when we started laying into our punches, we stopped and found different sparring partners.
Slava: What did your relatives think about it?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, they didn’t know and also, we weren’t sparring so much as slapping each other a bit. We didn’t try to commit murder.
Slava: (laughing) What chances do you think Sultan has, and what is your prediction for the bout with Shannon Briggs?
Timor Ibragimov: You see, it’s very difficult to make predictions in boxing. In our weight class especially, one punch can not only decide the result of a single fight but an entire career, so what can I say except each fighter comes out looking to win. Objectively, Sultan has many positive traits, like his punch, general tempo, but Briggs has many positives, too, such as a great punch, left hook-straight right, and awesome hand speed. Then you shouldn’t forget that out of all the fighters at heavyweight, Shannon Briggs currently has the greatest number of KO’s in the first two rounds. He leads the category and that is a significant factor which will make the fight more interesting. Both of them know what is at stake, like money, popularity, and this will push both guys and help develop interest in the fight.
Slava: Do you know if Sultan’s preparation is even more serious for this fight?
Timor Ibragimov: It’s going fine; He is a responsible person, and as I said, they both know what they are fighting for, and if one of them will make a mistake somewhere along the line, then he will blame himself for the rest of his life. So, yeah, Sultan is training seriously.
Slava: Will you be in his corner?
Timor Ibragimov: We’ll see, I don’t know yet.
Slava: What was your amateur record?
Timor Ibragimov: I don’t remember exactly but I remember that I had a good number of fights, definitely more then 100, maybe 150 or so.
Slava: Can you name some of your more famous opponents, either from guys who are currently pros or were amateur stars?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, I boxed against Jirov, though, I lost, and also I beat Rostislav Zaolichny, who was an amateur world champ.
Slava: Vasily Jirov? That is interesting because I asked Vasily the same question, but he didn’t tell us about it. When and where did the bout take place?
Timor Ibragimov: It was…. Oh, I don’t even remember, maybe at the Central Asian games, when I was still in Uzbekistan. He won in decent fashion, maybe with a score of 5-3, if I remember correctly.
Slava: Who do you think was the greatest Soviet boxer of all time and why?
Timor Ibragimov: Hmm… Lemeshev, probably, although that is just my opinion. Of course, there were many greats, the same Vysotsky, Karataev, many, but style-wise, I liked Lemeshev.
Slava: Yes, Nikolai Valuev’s trainer, Manvel Gabrielyan, said the exact same thing. Why else do you think he was the greatest?
Timor Ibragimov: Why? Well, as they say, “nobody has friends in flavor and taste,” however, again, style-wise, that lead hand, that pawing, range finding and then, split-second, he sticks in the right and just turns around and walks away.
Slava: (laughing) Somebody requested I ask this question. How would you rate your ability to take a shot out of a possible 10 points?
Timor Ibragimov: Before a fight, to be honest, I am very superstitious and don’t want to answer such questions. The person who asked should be the judge. Come to the fight and judge for yourself how well I get hit or take a shot.
Slava: Which more or less famous fighters are you good friends with?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, Sultan, of course. Also, Ruslan Chagaev.
Slava: That is exactly who I wanted to ask if you were friends with.
Timor Ibragimov: Not even that we are friends, I think, we are more like brothers. We were on the national team together for 10 years, living in the same room, and eating from the same plate, so we are very close.
Slava: Do you still communicate?
Timor Ibragimov: For a time, when he was here in the United States, we talked but then he moved to Germany, and we would still talk but then I changed my cell phone, and to make a long story short, lost his number and that is it. I think I can find him through Tashkent again.
Slava: What about the other guys from Uzbekistan, like Mohammed Abdullaev?
Timor Ibragimov: Yes, yes, we have a good relationship, too. However, he doesn’t box now after the Kotelnik fight.
Slava: What are your thoughts on Nikolai Valuev’s title defense against Chagaev?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, I can say the same thing here as I said about Sultan. Everybody wants to win and he has his chances, of course, but it all depends on the fighters themselves, not us.
Slava: Did you spar against Ruslan in the amateurs?
Timor Ibragimov: Yes, we trained together but didn’t have any real professional sparring. We worked in pairs, but in amateur boxing, you work on a certain exercise, and other than that, he always competed at a different weight category.
Slava: Many fans say that because of Valuev’s height, he is impossible to beat. How would you try to take out the giant?
Timor Ibragimov: Well, I don’t know. It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and say, “yeah, like this or like that,” but when you get in the ring and you have this huge guy there, you start reacting and thinking differently. Probably as most experts say, you have to get inside on him because he has long hands and won’t be able to reach you, and then you have to pound the body. I think Ruslan will use a similar strategy because he is shorter, and a lefty who can really wail on the liver. The first 3 to 4 rounds, the fight should go like that.
Again, though, that is just my opinion, because I think otherwise, he will get caught by a straight right. However, if he works the body, then Valuev should start dropping his hands and his own weight will start to bother him in the later rounds. It should be good.
Slava: What do you like to do in your free time?
Timor Ibragimov: (laughing) Well, I don’t know, I surf the net, go to the beach, read, and like many regular people, I listen to music.
Slava: What do you like to listen to?
Timor Ibragimov: It depends on my mood. Mostly pop music. To be honest, I don’t like rap music. Our own regular pop music, Uzbek pop music, sometimes when the mood strikes, I could listen to some classical.
Slava: Did you watch Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Borat”?
Timor Ibragimov: Yes.
Slava: Well, besides Kazakhstan, Borat also takes the opportunity to bother Uzbekistan a bit. What do you think about it?
Timor Ibragimov: You see, when people saw that movie, right away they started thinking that that was exactly how people in Kazakhstan live. It’s just sad that the majority of people who liked the film are not that well educated and don’t understand that it was not a true to life movie. Yeah, maybe, for instance, in some parts of Mexico or Columbia, people live like that, but here in the USSR?
Yes there were a lot of wrong and bad things because of Communism, that is not even in question or doubt, but there were a lot of good things as well. You can’t forget that. We had a school in each collective, we had electricity and roads everywhere, and that is partly why things are so different then the way they were represented on film. Besides, it was shot in Romania and if somebody really believed that it was Kazakhstan, then that just proves how uneducated certain people are. Kazakhs, in general, look more like Mongols or Asians, and if he really planned or wanted to make a true to life film, he would have shot on location in Mongolia. Instead, some viewers started thinking that people with European and Slavic faces are real Kazakhs. In fact, the one guy was speaking Armenian throughout the entire film.
Slava: I think they threw a ton of different languages in there.
Timor Ibragimov: Yes, the movie was very funny, though, but kind of a different humor, and really I am veering off topic, what can I say about it?
Slava: Well, for instance, does it annoy you personally?
Timor Ibragimov: Of course not, because even an anti-advertisement like that doesn’t fall far from an advertisement and sometimes even helps much more. That is why all our stars divorce, and argue because the more people talk about them, the more it helps their career.
Slava: I think Kazakhstan’s prime minister said the exact same thing. Anyway, Timur, thank you very much for your time. What do you want to say in conclusion to all the fans on the English and Russian websites boxing247.com and fightnews.ru?
Timor Ibragimov: I want to thank everyone for supporting us, Sultan and myself. May god grant you health, happiness and make this new year lucky for everyone, not just us boxers but all fans too, and I wish everybody, including you personally all the best.
Slava: Once again, Timur, thank you for your time and we’ll be hoping for a victory come February 16th.
All the best wishes to Timor come fight night next Friday.