Eight-time Russian weightlifting champion Mikhail Koklyaev named the favorite of the future fight between Dmitry Kudryashov and Evgeny Romanov at the GAZFIGHT tournament. He told about this on May 1 to the REN TV channel.
According to Koklyaev, Kudryashov has more experience in boxing, but Romanov has never lost in 15 fights and is a dangerous opponent.
“In the ratings of world boxing federations, Kudryashov [расположен] higher by an order of magnitude, and he has more and more victories in amateur fights – 24 victories <...> For me, both are equal. The only thing is that, of course, Kudryashov’s rating is better, ”Koklyaev said.
At the same time, he noted that he would root for both, because Russian boxing “needs new heavyweights, bright fights are needed in order to be seen abroad.”
The athlete wished both boxers victory, but nevertheless noticed that Kudryashov, after a long absence in the ring, would show better boxing. “The victory will be his,” said Koklyaev, adding that his “forecast is a little bit in the direction of Kudryashov.”
On May 1, other athletes – Denis Lebedev, Shavkat Rakhimov and Grigory Drozd – also shared their expectations of the outcome of the tournament fights.
On May 21, Romanov and Kudryashov will hold a qualifying match, the winner of which will be able to claim the title of world champion of the new division according to the WBC version. The athletes will be the first boxers to compete in the Bridgerweight division, named after the boy hero Bridger Walker, who saved his sister from a dog. The child took the blow, 90 stitches were applied to his face.
The organizer of the tournament, which will be held at the Khimki basketball center in the Moscow region, was the boxing promotion of the popular rapper Basta (Vasily Vakulenko) GAZFIGHT.