Translated material
Champion ring
Athens triumphant Alexey Tishchenko began his campaign for the second “gold”
On Monday, the Russian boxing team suffered its first loss. And what kind! The 2007 world champion and 2006 European champion Albert Selimov (weight category 57 kg) dropped out of the fight for Olympic awards. In the opening match, he lost with a score of 7:14 to the Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko, the same one whom he beat in the World Cup final last fall.Yesterday started on a positive note for our boxers. In the morning, the famous Kostya Tszyu came to visit them in the Olympic Village. Just for a friendly conversation, as he himself put it. “Eight years ago, at the Sydney Olympics, I already met with the Russian boxing team,” Tszyu told a Vremya Novostei correspondent, “but then the situation was completely different. I live in Sydney, and the guys came to my home and trained in my gym. That team included my friend, Alexander Lebzyak, with whom we boxed for the USSR national team. Today he is the head coach of the national team, and among his players I know practically no one. Here, in Beijing, I have already watched several fights, but it turned out that the Russians did not participate in them. During the meeting, I tried to help the guys as best I could - I shared my experience, including participation in the Olympic Games, talked about the diet that I myself follow during the competition, and shared some nuances of preparation on the eve of the decisive fights. I will be glad if my advice will benefit them.”
Alas, Albert Selimov can now use them only at other competitions. Of course, the draw chose the most difficult opponent for Selimov in the debut fight - Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko. But, on the other hand, neither our coaches nor Albert himself had any secrets about the capabilities of this boxer. Less than a year ago, he dealt with it without any problems in the World Championship finals in Chicago. Then our fighter countered the tempo style of boxing with filigree technique, outplaying the Ukrainian primarily due to good footwork.
“I remember that fight very well,” Vice-President of the Russian Boxing Federation Viktor Rybakov told a Vremya Novostey correspondent. - Therefore, I immediately warned Albert: “Your main trump card is speed. If you manage to move quickly around the ring, working at a distance as number two, you will definitely win again. If you stand up, you will certainly lose.” However, Albert himself knew this well and worked the first round in exactly this style, and then suddenly stopped, got into close combat and lost in an exchange of blows. He frankly failed the third round, losing it with a crushing score of 0:6. The last two minutes, naturally, could not change anything. It's a pity, Selimov was one of those boxers on the team who was considered a potential Olympic champion.
In the evening program of yesterday's competition, our second participant entered the ring - Olympic champion of Athens Alexey Tishchenko (60 kg). His opponent was Saifeddine Neymaoui from Tunisia. It was classic boxing performed by Alexey. At least put it in textbooks under the heading: how to conduct opening matches of an Olympic tournament. Like a boa constrictor slowly and inexorably swallowing a rabbit, the Russian calmly, without forcing events, took the initiative into his own hands: 2:0 after the first round, 7:0 after the second. Only towards the end of the third round did the Tunisian manage to land the first accurate blow, but by that time his situation already looked hopeless. And our boxer, having achieved a comfortable advantage, slowed down, deciding to save his strength for more serious fights. Alexey will next enter the ring on August 15, and his opponent will be Australian Anthony Little.
By the way, one of the main, as expected, competitors of Tishchenko in Beijing, Englishman Frankie Gavin, who sensationally beat our boxer at the 2007 World Championships, was unable to cope with his own weight here, did not fit within the limits of his weight category and was disqualified. “The situation is very similar to the one that happened with our boxer Gennady Kovalev at the Games in Athens,” said the coach of our team, Alexander Chernoivanov, commenting on this event for Vremya Novostey. “There, Gennady had to drop his weight before the fight. 10 kg. For this, believe me, a lot of willpower is required. In the end, our boxer coped with the task, but the Englishman, as you can see, failed.” But, to be honest, this didn’t upset us very much: Tishchenko’s chances of becoming a two-time Olympic champion are increasing.
The fights of Matvey Korobov (75 kg) and Artur Beterbiev (81 kg) against Swedish boxers, which took place on the first day of the competition, followed the same scenario. Both tried to solve their problems already in the first round, and both finished it with the same score of 5:1 in their favor. And then, as they say, it was a matter of technology, especially since the Russians have a clearly higher level of technology.
Tactically, he dealt very competently with his first opponent - the Chinese Qiong Maimaitituersun and Gennady Kovalev (64 kg). He did not get involved in a fight, as Selimov did, but, working as number two, technically outplayed him at a distance.
But for Andrey Balanov, the fight with the Namibian Mujajai Kasuto was, contrary to expectations, very difficult. Suffice it to say that the first two rounds ended with a minimal advantage for the Russian, and he completely lost the third. Unlike Tishchenko, Andrey was unable to cope with the excitement of the first fight, which he clearly did not conduct in his style, retreating from the usual pressure of his opponent. In the end I won, but conclusions must be drawn: the next fights will be much more difficult.