EXCLUSIVE: Heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov – British Bound

“It’s a good time to have this fight, and it’s no problem for me going to fight in his hometown. I have fought abroad a lot in the WSB. There was one guy I fought who was a big star in his country, and after the fight, they were all cheering for me.

“Before the fight, the Police in Venezuela came up to me and said, ‘If anyone asks you to give you anything, you give them everything, or they will shoot you straight away.’ It’s a very interesting country, but I’ve fought in a lot of places. I’ve fought in Cuba, in the USA, in Saudi Arabia, and all around the world. I even fought in Mongolia once. I’ve had fights in Turkey, Germany, Croatia, and in Italy; I’ve fought four times. I’ve even fought in India, can you imagine brother? Going to England to fight is a good motivation for me because the English fans are the best boxing fans. They love their boxing, and they understand the culture of boxing. They see my good boxing, and they are all going to love me.”

The 6’6 colossus has hit a patchy bit of form going into the contest that promoter Eddie Hearn has stated “will propel Dave Allen onto the world stage.” Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) is 2-2 in his last four bouts, coming up short with KO losses to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello. Makhmudov would bounce from his latest defeat to Vianello with a first-round stoppage against Canadian-based Jamaican Ricardo Brown.

“I learnt a lot from the first loss to Kabayel,” Makhmudov explained. “I quickly understood that I need to be more professional to compete with the top guys in terms of training and lifestyle. I have fixed those mistakes and am looking forward to first of all winning my next fight and getting close to a world championship title. You can’t always jump from one level to another. You can’t go 10-0 as an amateur, then jump into professional fights. You have to train more, improve things, and work harder as you move forward. Boxing is a short career; you can’t waste too much time in and outside of the gym. If you can get that right, your career should work.

“I haven’t changed my style too much. Obviously, with each separate opponent, you change your tactics a little bit and be ready to adapt. This is what we’ve always done, working hard in the gym to find a way to win against our opponent.”

Makhmudov has spent the vast majority of his career stationed in Montreal with local promotional powerhouse Eye of the Tiger Management. They’ve stuck by him through the losses to find the heavyweight contender an opportunity on the road. As the heavyweight division witnesses unprecedented activity thanks to Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, another opportunity to face the division’s elite still lingers.

“With any loss, you are going to be unhappy,” Makhmudov added. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I understand at a higher level that I need to be stronger. I need to train more, and I need to focus. It’s not just the training during camp; I need to work all the time. You have to be a complete professional. I am happy that the losses happened; it’s pushed me towards another level.

“It’s not like I’ve been doing anything bad; I’m a Muslim. I don’t smoke or drink. It’s more about the travelling. Obviously, I’m from Dagestan and I like to go back to Russia and Dagestan to see my friends and family to spend some time with them. But now I understand that I need to sacrifice this. I can do that after my career. I have a short career, and I have to spend all that time in the gym and sacrifice everything for boxing.

“I have my wife and kids with me in Quebec, who came with me from Russia. Being completely alone would be very difficult. My family and I adapted to life very quickly here. My kid goes to school and has learnt the languages. To be honest with you, I never believed that I would stay in Russia. I was always ready to move. I knew I had to spend my time somewhere else if I was to continue with my career.”