The return of Irina Poteeva and the first world fight of the invincible Nikita Kuznetsov. Boxers of Nizhny Tagil are preparing for “Ratiborets. Valery Efremov about Nikita Kuznetsov winning the championship title and the career of Sergei Vorobyov

21-year-old Nikita Kuznetsov, a graduate of the Nizhny Tagil SC Sputnik, will take part in a boxing match for the right to qualify for championship belt at the international tournament among professionals “Ratiborets”. The Tagil resident will have his first ten-round fight at the world level against the Filipino Laspinas Rey. The tournament, consisting of nine fights, is scheduled for October 29 and will be held in the Yekaterinburg sports and recreation complex "Arena".

This fight will be the sixth in professional career athlete. Before this, Kuznetsov had five fights, three of which he finished with a technical knockout of his opponent.

“There is no excitement before the fight as such,” the athlete admitted to the Academy of Sciences “Between the Lines.” “I would really like to someday fight in my native walls, to hear and feel the support of the residents, who, I am sure, support me with all their hearts.” If you asked me what I would like to tell you about, I would tell you about my city. But not about the fact that my city, which I am proud of, is a landmark of Russia, not about carriages and the best tanks in the world. I would talk about people who are close to me in spirit. About the people with whom I grew up, studied and trained. And how grateful I am to all my fans! The support of each of you is very important. I will not let you down!"

Nikita is a master of sports in boxing. Before turning pro, he was a member of the Russian junior and youth national teams. Repeated winner and champion of the Sverdlovsk region and the Urals Federal District, multiple winner, finalist and prize-winner of the Russian Championship, Russian Cup. Repeated champion of international tournaments both in Russia and abroad.

The highlight of the competition will be the return to the ring after the birth of the first child of the famous boxer from Nizhny Tagil, Irina Serebrennikova (Poteeva). Initially, the European champion and bronze medalist of the World Championship was supposed to have her first professional fight with Sonia Ostosic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but a few days ago Ostosic was injured, and she will be replaced in the ring by an athlete from Stavropol, Patima Aishalova. Let us remind you that just 9 months ago, Tagil resident Irina Poteeva became a mother.

“When my son was 4 months old, I started going to the gym, running, and slowly came to the point of returning to boxing. My husband is sympathetic to my return to sports. I take the child with me, my friend sits while I study. At first it was hard to combine, but now I’ve settled into a routine,” the athlete says in an interview.

The main event of the evening will be rating battle for the WBA (World Boxing Organization) light heavyweight title. A Russian professional boxer will fight for him, current champion USA according to WBC-USNBC, interim world champion according to WBA Dmitry Bivol and African champion according to UBO and Tanzanian title holder Abdallah Paziwapazi.

News Agency "Between the Lines"

Nikita Kuznetsov and Elnur Samedov awaiting the judge's verdict

Last weekend, the Floyd Mayweather Boxing Academy took place. Literally at the last moment, the Russian Boxing Federation gave well-deserved significance and additional status to this fight, putting the vacant title of Russian professional boxing champion in lightweight at stake. The fight turned out to be spectacular and competitive, and the judge's score was very close. Based on the results of 10 rounds, Nikita Kuznetsov from Nizhny Tagil won by split decision. While passions subside and boxing fans who did not get tickets for this evening are waiting for the video recording to appear, we contacted the famous Ural specialist Valery Fedorovich Efremov (Nikita Kuznetsov’s coach) - the founder boxing club "ValEf" (Nizhny Tagil) to find out: his impressions of the last fight, details of the preparatory process and thoughts about the future career of Nikita Kuznetsov.

The material is recommended reading for absolutely all boxing fans. If you are interested in how the battle plan is actually developed and executed, the risks are weighed and what role professional sports personal responsibility plays a role coaching staff, your personal experience Valery Fedorovich Efremov will share. Professional o professional boxing …

website: Valery Fedorovich ( @valef_chaika), please share your impressions of the fight, were you satisfied with Nikita Kuznetsov’s performance?

I want to start with very important moment that occurred during our preparation. Somewhere in the middle of the training camp, Nikita severely injured his right hand, thumb. We tried our best to neutralize this injury, taped him tightly, constantly monitored his well-being, and even finished sparring early. Nikita, of course, said that he was fine, but during the fight the injury made itself felt. He stuck to the plan - he hit the body a lot to remove the guard. From the corner, I got the impression that after the 6-7th round the work on the body made itself felt, the opponent began to avoid the fight, twist, tie, clinch. There was a chance to end the fight ahead of schedule, but just then Nikita stopped hitting with his right hand - he finally injured his finger and right shoulder, this was confirmed by doctors after the fight. In the second half I had to reduce the number of shots and hit for sure, and when you aim, it’s very difficult to choose the moment to strike. This trouble in the end blurred the entire previous story, and although Nikita moved forward to the end, so many power blows not enough to finish off the enemy. Although I believe that if everything had been normal with him, let’s say, with his “weapons,” he could have ended this battle ahead of schedule.

I want to clarify right away. I am describing my vision of the battle from the corner, and I want to draw your attention to the fact that it can be very different from the impressions you get if you watch it on tape or from the side. When you are in a corner, your head is occupied with the nuances, and not with the big picture. Therefore, I really want to review it, at least to analyze the reasons for the decision of one of the judges, who considered Samedov the winner. In my impression, he won no more than 3-4 rounds, but again, this is a view from the corner.

website: How did the idea of ​​moving up two weight categories at once come about and take root, or did you move up specifically for the fight with Elnur Samedov? From the outside it looked like a serious risk.

This decision was influenced by two events at once. First, Nikita is 23 years old and growing up. Last Stand with Andrey Isaev in the featherweight division ( up to 57.152 kg – approx. ed.) was very difficult for him, and this despite the fact that there was “admission” ( intermediate weight between the featherweight and first lightweight divisions - approx. ed.). Due to the shift, he was not able to implement everything we worked on. So it was very logical to change the weight category. We, of course, wanted to climb the first easy one ( up to 58.967 kg – approx. ed.), but all the “sane” opponents, who at this stage are not “firewood” and Nikita needs for growth, all refused to box! The candidacy of Elnur Samedov was proposed by Shamir ( Shamir Petrosyan, a famous manager in professional boxing - approx. ed.) and the managers managed to quickly find a common language. Of course, we wanted to fight in an intermediate weight, at least 60 kilograms, but on this issue Samedov’s team remained adamant, only a light weight– 61 kilograms. We accepted this condition, although there were serious disagreements in our team on this issue. I argued my point of view very simply: “ We need to meet such opponents, from boxing with whom we will get something, only from such fights does a boxer come out stronger. If we can’t beat such strong, actually good opponents, how can we even lay claim to serious titles?!».

I took responsibility for this decision and this is not the first time this has happened. If you look at Nikita's opponents, there are no passed ones among them. The debut fight was with two-time world champion Thai boxing from Kyrgyzstan, a young boy, but very cool! Then there were the guys, fighting ones, with one defeat - a serious test. Damir Bulatov, of course, lost five times, but he was the only one who accepted the challenge when, at the last moment, the opposing team violated the agreement and already at the weigh-in Bulatov was already 2 kilograms heavier! Did you watch the fight with Evgeniy Smirnov?! We definitely don’t make Nikita Kuznetsov a home boxer; we always try to give him good opponents with whom he has difficult fights! We also considered the option of a second fight with Smirnov, but did not agree on weight category. In general, we would be happy to box with Evgeniy a second time, but in the first lightweight category, especially since we were told that he recently also rose to this weight category.

website: Kuznetsov and Samedov went undefeated before the fight. Recently, Russian promoters are increasingly taking risks - bringing unbeaten prospects together. Obviously, growth and spectacle are only possible in competitive fights, but what else could this trend be associated with?

This is also due to the economic situation, because it has become harder for many promoters. You see, it’s expensive to sell an imported “bag”; you need to pay him twice as much as our good prospect. Now everything is starting to be optimized, representatives of their “stables” are starting to bring each other together in order, let’s say, to leave real prospects. No false records. People begin to wool their “stables” and thus get good fights. This is because prospects are starting to meet each other. This is important for popularizing professional boxing in Russia and attracts the attention of the audience.

website: You conducted a full-fledged training camp, prepared specifically for Elnur Samedov and studied him very well. Did your expectations from the fight coincide with what ultimately happened in the ring?

Samedov is a great boxer, very sensitive and fast. Several times he superbly intercepted Nikita's attacks. The only thing is that we were a little surprised by the changes in his tactics. In general, he is an aggressor and in all previous fights he boxed in this way, but here in the middle of the fight a “crisis” was visible, he began to avoid Nikita. Either it was a tactical move, or we managed to “prepare” him with body work. We also worked a lot so that Nikita would not waste a lot of energy in the clinch with a heavier opponent, and if he did get into close combat, he would “put the opponent on his heels” and push him a little. An opponent who does not have a point of support cannot hit hard, even if he hits, he falls back and does not hit as hard. This can be hit hard at a medium or long distance while retreating, but in close combat it is impossible to hit while falling back. We worked a lot on balance in close combat, but were unable to fully implement the plan due to injury. Elnur Samedov is a very cool boxer and it’s good that Nikita outboxed a cool guy. This is not just my opinion, look. The fight was supposed to be 10 rounds and literally before the weigh-in in the process of paperwork at the Russian Boxing Federation, Oleg Ageev ( Director of the Professional Boxing Department at the Russian Boxing Federation - approx. ed.) having assessed the real level of both boxers, he proposed to our director ( Alexander Skaredin, director of the promotion company "Rat" - approx. ed.) give it a well-deserved status by making it a title. Everyone understands perfectly well that this is a fight between two serious rivals and I think he could deservedly lead this evening.

website: In Russia, the culture of professional boxing has not been fully formed, first of all I mean the work of management. You often had agreements break down, a variety of misunderstandings arose, how can you evaluate Elnur’s team in this regard?

Right! It must be said that we are not looking for opponents at the last moment. Negotiations on this fight took a long time, but this is a normal situation, we discussed all the points. I think they approached everything professionally, not only to the process of signing the contract, but also to the execution of agreements. Before this, Samedov boxed 12 rounds ( ) for the WBC title ( champion belt of the CIS and Slavic countries according to the WBC - approx. ed.) and won it. And if you think logically, for him a fight for the Russian champion title is a step back. But this did not become a hindrance. We lived in the same hotel and after the fight there were absolutely no complaints, we shook hands, and here our opinions coincided again: It turned out to be a really cool fight! Everyone needed such a fight for growth and experience, both benefited from it.

website: Who helped Nikita prepare for the championship fight?

We had a team preparing in Nizhny Tagil: Sergey Vorobyov, Nikita Kuznetsov, Andrey Maik and Ruslan Kamilov. Weight varied from 59 kg to 69 kg. Nikita was one of the easiest, but he sparred with everyone. Kamilov is also boxing at 59, despite his age - he is very fast, he was in the national team, an International Class Master of Sports. It was not possible to include Ruslan and Andrey in the fight card of the Prospekt tournament, it was overcrowded, so on April 30 we will compete again in the Moscow region.

website: Have you already made a decision - will you remain in lightweight weight or will you box in lightweight (up to 58.967 kg) and who are your potential opponents?

We will definitely be boxing at 59! Our goal is “top” opponents, so we contacted the match makers of RMK from Yekaterinburg, made an offer to match Nikita with any of their best lightweights - Alekseev, Rakhimov or Chuprakov. For now they have other plans, but we are ready to box with any opponent if an offer is made.

website: Tell us in a few words about Sergei Vorobyov. He lives in the Leningrad region, but trains with you, in Nizhny Tagil.

Yes, Sergei Vorobiev is also mine. He's a cool, promising guy. It amazingly combines the qualities necessary in professional boxing and Everyday life. He not only good boxer, but also charismatic and very good-natured in his own right - a real “Northern Slav”. We sometimes call him “Viking”. And in fact, many people watch him not only as an athlete, but also as a person. When we went to Kemerovo, fans simply did not give him access.

His record is 6 fights, 6 wins by knockout. Although in the first battles the opponents broke down at the very last moment and we brought in not the strongest debutants. This was not due to our politics. We often sign a contract with a team, and at the last moment they simply break down. But from the third fight we “pull up” our opponents in an ascending manner. Guys who have never lost by knockout, who have never even been knocked down, and he “breaks” them. I think he is not only a promising boxer, but also a cool guy, and this is also very important.

website: Valery Fedorovich, thank you for the first-hand information.

On April 30, the team of the promotion company “Rat” will again come to the Moscow region. Andrey Maik and Ruslan Kamilov will hold their rating matches, details will be known a little later. Follow the news!

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Nikita Kuznetsov promised to become a world champion, the boxer from Nizhny Tagil announced this to his fans immediately after the end of the fight with Evgeny Smirnov from Kineshma for the Russian Featherweight Champion title as part of the Ratiborets-6 tournament.

Following the results of a beautiful and intense match, the judges rendered a verdict - a draw. The fight took place in Nizhny Tagil with the stands at the Metallurg Forum filled to capacity. Nikita Kuznetsov thanked coach Valery Efremov, manager, friends and family for their support.

“Guys, what I want to say. The judges gave it a draw. Thanks to everyone who worried about me, just a huge thank you. On behalf of myself and the entire team, I want to say that we will win! We don't need paper titles and casual fights. We will break, we will win. Only your faith in us motivates me to win! I will be a world champion - I promise! Thank you, Team. Thank you, Tagil. I thank and love my family. Go ahead!!!" - Nikita Kuznetsov wrote on social networks.

Well, the most important fight of the tournament “Ratiborets-6” between the interim WBA world champion in light heavyweight Russian Dmitry Bivol and New Zealander Robert Berridge delighted the fans. Bivol knocked Berridge out. Bivol quickly and confidently beat his opponent to technical knockout in the fourth round.

As Box TV notes, in the third three-minute period, Bivol twice sent his opponent to the floor of the ring, and in the fourth, Berridge again found himself on the canvas. At the same time, Berridge received a serious cut near his eye, which caused concern among the doctor and the fight was stopped, which saved Berridge from a direct knockout.

Boris Kuznetsov was one of two Soviet Olympic champions at the 1972 Games in Munich. His success in the featherweight weight category (up to 57 kg) was then repeated in the second middleweight by the famous knockout artist Vyacheslav Lemeshev. Boris Kuznetsov became the 10th anniversary Olympic champion in boxing Soviet Union throughout history. And it was Kuznetsov who was destined to become the first gold medal Olympic medalist among representatives of Astrakhan and the Astrakhan region in all sports. This is what our story will be about today.

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Boris Georgievich Kuznetsov (249 fights, 237 victories)

Achievements: Outstanding Soviet amateur boxer. Olympic champion 1972, silver medalist at the 1974 World Championship, two-time champion of the USSR 1972, 1974. featherweight (up to 57 kg), Honored Master of Sports (1972)

Boris Kuznetsov was born on February 23, 1947. He began boxing in 1958 with coach V. Belokosov. But the first one is mine official fight spent only in 1961, at the age of 14. And already in 1965, the talented guy began to gain all-Union fame in the circles of coaches and specialists. From the very beginning, Boris was distinguished by a very unconventional style of fighting. Possessing brilliant reflexes and incredible coordination, Kuznetsov did not, like the vast majority of novice boxers, work in the classical manner instilled by coaches. On the contrary, during the fight he always tried to work in an open stance with his hands down. At first glance, his manner seemed adventurous and irrational. But it was enough for any critic to look at Boris’s actions in the ring, and all his skepticism instantly dissipated. The more the boxing public of that time recognized Kuznetsov, the more often they began to compare him with the brilliant Viktor Ageev. Boris's movements, however, did not have such stunning cat-like softness as was inherent in Ageev. But Kuznetsov had his own trump cards: his movements were sharper, and therefore extremely unexpected for his opponents.

In addition, all these qualities allowed Boris to look very impressive and spectacular in the ring, which was very much appreciated by boxing specialists in those days. Kuznetsov’s talent fully manifested itself already in the youth ring. In 1965 and 1966 he became the champion of the USSR in his age category, and in the same 1966 he emerged as the winner of a very representative event held in Berlin international tournament"Olympic hopes". True, when Kuznetsov began competing in competitions among adults, at first he did not succeed in everything. With a bold and open manner of fighting, Boris initially got a lot of trouble in fights with skilled opponents. But those temporary setbacks did not force Kuznetsov to change himself. Even skipping strong blows, he still acted with his hands down, adapted to experienced opponents, polished his defensive skills with swift dives and dodges, honed his sense of distance, increased his tactical awareness, and polished feints that were puzzling for his opponents. Boris successfully implemented all these developments in subsequent years.

True, on the way to boxing heights, a not very pleasant and rather unusual episode happened in Kuznetsov’s life. When Boris decided to get married, he personal coach Belokosov categorically opposed this. The young boxer had to make a difficult and, to some extent, even fateful decision. Kuznetsov got married, but lost his coach. At that difficult moment, Boris was greatly helped by his childhood friend Alexander Chaplygin. The guys knew each other well from many years of training, and Chaplygin, who began to look after Kuznetsov after that unpleasant incident, eventually replaced him as his mentor. It was under the leadership of Chaplygin that Boris achieved the greatest success in his sports career.

Kuznetsov had a chance to go to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, but his then rather unstable results in intra-Union competitions became an obstacle to this. Although Boris's lackluster fights alternated with simply brilliant performances. So, shortly before the Olympics, Kuznetsov managed to defeat two boxers at once, who soon became Olympic champions - his compatriot and eternal rival Valerian Sokolov and the Mexican Antonio Roldan. It was then that Boris finally realized that he was quite capable of winning medals at the largest international tournaments himself.

Purposefully continuing to improve his skills, Kuznetsov managed to add the next Olympic cycle to his credit. In 1970 and 1971, he became the silver medalist of the USSR Championship, which was also a step forward. But 1972, olympic year Already completely remained with the Astrakhan resident. First, Boris took revenge from Valerian Sokolov for his defeat in last year's final Championship of the Soviet Union and for the first time became the winner of the main all-Union competitions. And then it was the turn of the Olympic triumph. 25-year-old Kuznetsov went to the Games in Munich not just as part of the national team, but also as its captain. And Boris fully justified the high trust of the coaches and management of the USSR Boxing Federation.

When Boris decided to get married, his personal trainer Belokosov categorically opposed it. The young boxer had to make a difficult and, to some extent, even fateful decision.

Upon arrival in Germany, it turned out that it was in the featherweight division, where Kuznetsov competed, that the largest number of participants entered the competition. This means that in order to win gold, it was necessary to emerge victorious from six consecutive fights. It is worth noting here that, for example, for the first Soviet Olympic boxing champion Vladimir Safronov, in order to win the 1956 featherweight tournament, it was necessary to emerge victorious in four fights. And here - already at six. But Kuznetsov, who was perfectly prepared physically and functionally, was ready to complete this tournament marathon to the end.

Boris joined olympic competitions boxers were the first from the Soviet team. Kuznetsov was well acquainted with his opponent, Harouna Lago from Nigeria, from joint pre-Olympic sparring. Of course I realized highest class enemy and Lago. The African decided to forcefully compensate for Kuznetsov’s superior skill, but Boris very quickly “failed” him and knocked him down with a straight right. Lago stood up, but was immediately caught up in Kuznetsov’s signature feints and knocked out. In the second fight - against the Venezuelan Jose Baptista - an incident happened to Boris. He was given new, lightweight boxing shorts, which were good for everyone, but they slipped very much on the flooring of the ring. But this serious circumstance did not unsettle the Soviet boxer, although it made life very difficult. The assertive Baptista moved forward like a bulldozer, but Kuznetsov could not habitually flutter around the ring, breaking the distance and moving away from the direction of the attack. Boris had no choice but to rest his feet on the flooring and take the fight at close range. medium distances. Of course, having lost his brilliant playing style and mobility, Kuznetsov faced serious difficulties, but he met the enemy with a high-speed series of blows from different angles, which ultimately determined the outcome of the battle. Although there was a disagreement in the judges' notes, with a score of 3:2, the victory was given to the Soviet fighter.

But this unpleasant circumstance somewhat unexpectedly turned out to be beneficial for Kuznetsov in the next fight. Pole Richard Tomczyk, who eliminated Valerian Sokolov from the fight at the continental championship and then became the European champion, saw Boris’s fight with Baptista and, obviously, came to the conclusion about the poor mobility of the Soviet fighter. And this played a cruel joke on him. Having put on normal boxing shorts, Kuznetsov, having had the opportunity to act in his element, literally pulled him apart on his feet and outplayed the confused Pole on counterattacks. Until the end of the battle, Tomczyk was unable to tactically adapt to the enemy’s actions and lost outright with a score of 0:5.
In the quarterfinals, Boris Kuznetsov was awaited by the strong Romanian Gabriel Pometcu. The captain of the Soviet team quickly rushed into battle from the very start and suppressed the enemy with his activity and rate of fire. The persistent Romanian tried to make up for lost time in the remaining two rounds, but Boris clearly brought the fight to his victory with a score of 4:1. In the semi-finals, Kuznetsov was opposed by the Hungarian Andras Botos, who, like Mark, was a medalist at the 1971 European Championship. The pupil of the famous Laszlo Papp could not do anything about the superiority of the Soviet fighter in technology and speed. Botos tried to force a dirty fight in the clinch, but the sharp and evasive Kuznetsov stopped the Hungarian’s attempts and won with a score of 5:0.

But Boris had to meet the most formidable opponent in the tournament in the final. For Kenyan Philip Waruinga, this was already the third Olympics. In 1968, he became a bronze medalist and winner of the Val Barker Cup and now intended to eventually climb to the Olympic peak. Immediately after the fight, Boris Kuznetsov himself commented on what was happening in the ring: “It was like a crowbar pinned Waruingi in right hand. If I went forward all the time, it could end badly. And I always got him with my left. And the series worked for me. It probably didn’t look very impressive from the outside, but I felt like I was doing everything right.” The formidable African was never able to catch his jet opponent with his killer right hand and after the final bell he only hit the ropes with it in desperation. True, Kuznetsov himself did not score many accurate hits. Boris acted carefully, clearly and precisely. Perhaps the two side judges, as they say, fell for the Kenyan’s activity. Only this can explain the fact that the victory was given to the Soviet boxer only with a close score of 3:2. But this was no longer of fundamental importance, and soon the USSR anthem was played in the hall.

Having finished performing in the ring, Boris Georgievich did not break ties with boxing. In Astrakhan, he created a children's and youth boxing school and became its director.

A little later, Boris Kuznetsov’s initiative was supported by the magnificent knockout artist Vyacheslav Lemeshev. These two wonderful fighter did not allow the disastrous performance of the Soviet boxing squad to happen at those Olympic Games. Only the two of them managed to reach the semi-finals, and then, without the support of their comrades who had lost in the preliminary stages, Boris and Vyacheslav won the two remaining fights and defended the honor Soviet boxing at the Games in Munich. In their homeland they were honored as national heroes.

Apparently, having relaxed somewhat after such a significant triumph, next year Boris Kuznetsov lost at the European Championships in Belgrade in the 1/16 finals to his old rival, Romanian Gabriel Pometcu. Thus, it can be stated that our hero’s relationship with the European Championships did not work out. It so happened that Kuznetsov participated in these competitions only once, and even then unsuccessfully. But in 1974, Boris regained his fighting strength and for the second time in his career won the title of USSR champion, defeating his eternal rival Valerian Sokolov in a difficult final battle with a score of 3:2. This success allowed him to go as part of the country's national team to the first World Championship, which took place in Cuba. Confidently winning the first four fights and having reached the final, Kuznetsov was most brazenly condemned in the decisive match with the American Howard Davis (who later became the Olympic champion at the 1976 Games).

Boris knew that this was the first in history amateur boxing the world championship would be the swan song of his long boxing career. Unfortunately, solely because of the corrupt servants of Themis, the outstanding Soviet boxer was unable to complete his boxing performances on a wave of triumph. But the champion from Astrakhan, always calm and balanced in life, accepted this blow of fate with steadfastness and equanimity. The final track record of Boris Kuznetsov’s ring battles includes 249 fights, in 237 of which the referee raised his hand. Having finished performing in the ring, Boris Georgievich did not break ties with boxing. In Astrakhan, he created a children's and youth boxing school and became its director. Even during the life of Boris Georgievich, an annual All-Russian tournament class “B” among adults and youth named after him. Boris Kuznetsov died on May 3, 2006 at the age of 60. After this, the boxing tournament in Astrakhan began to be held in memory of the outstanding Soviet boxer.