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Radivoje Kalajdzic: Artur Beterbijew sucks the soul out of you

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Radivoje Kalajdzic is a man who loves his job.

The fighter they call “Heated Rod” is living his best life, even after a hard-fought loss to David Morrell on August 3.

Although Kalajdzic feels he deserved more recognition in Los Angeles, the St. Petersburg, Florida native hopes his performance was good enough to earn him another substantial fight.

“Well, I like that,” he said. Kalajdzic asked about his further motivation. “I like sparring, fighting. I do everything. So when I lose the love for it, I’ll retire. But it’s like a job for me, but a job that I love. It’s putting food on the table, putting money on the table and food for my family. So like I said, I box and I fight and I get paid for it, so I can’t complain.”

The married father of three – two girls and a boy aged nine, six and five – has signed up for the fight with David Benavidez later this year and it is clear he has a lot of respect for the ‘Mexican monster’.

“Yeah, I think he’s a good puncher, he’s really brisk,” the Serb admitted. “I think he’s got a really good interior game, but I think Caleb Plant showed in the first five, six rounds that he can be boxed. But Plant eventually got tired, and then Benavidez started planning his game. Regardless, it’s going to be a good fight if me and him fight.”

Benavidez is coming off a points victory over the tough and athletic Ukrainian former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June. It was a tougher fight than many thought. Did that mean Benavidez might not be the same force at 175 that he was at super middleweight, or did Gvozdyk have more power than many thought?

“Well, Gvozdyk, maybe he has a lot of them [left]”- said ‘Heated Rod’. – I don’t know if he’s got much left. Maybe so, but he [Gvozdyk] he has a lot of amateur experience. He fought a lot of pros and he got experience and he knew how to weather the storm, stay placid. And after Benavidez got a little bit better, Gvozdyk started coming back. I mean, even Gvozdyk was beating [Artur] Beterbiev, I think so [until] ninth, tenth round. It was a close fight, but I think Gvozdyk came out on top. But like I said, Beterbiev will eventually tire you out and ponderous you down. That pressure for 12 rounds, it’s just, it’s stiff to deal with. And if he could deal with that with Beterbiev, Benavidez is by no means a monster or a boxer like Beterbiev.”

If Kalajdzic has a ton of respect for Benavidez, and he exudes it for Beterbiev, who is the only man to have stopped him. They sparred before, with Beterbiev stopping him in five rounds in 2019, becoming the only man to stop Kalajdzic in his 32-fight career.

“What I see him do to people during sparring is just crazy” adds the 33-year-old. “He just, you know, he won’t even throw that many punches in the first two or three rounds, and people are just exhausted because he’s right in your face and he just keeps coming. Just his presence, his pressure. He’s real.”

Kalajdzic He also believes that Beterbiev will win the most significant fight in October in Riyadh, when he will try to unify the 175-pound titles against Dmitry Bivol.

“I think Arthur Beterbiev [win]”predicted” Kalajdzic. “Just because of his strength, aggression and the fact that he’s a very good boxer, even though he fights and hits stiff. He breaks you down round after round, you could say he just sucks the soul out of you.

“I’ve fought him many times and even during the fight I felt like I was training with him in the fight, so he doesn’t hit that stiff, he just breaks you down and tires you out and eventually he stops you and breaks you down.”

Does Does Kalajdzic think the unification fight will live up to expectations and hype?

“Well, any fight Beterbiev has is damn close to being the fight of the year. He makes you fight in his fight, so it’ll be really fascinating to see if Bivol can stay away from him for 12 rounds.”

Kalajdzic is hoping to be back in the game with a substantial name before the end of the year. He is also keen to travel to the UK to fight some of the top airy heavyweights, including the likes of Anthony Yarde. He knows he will probably get written off again, but that doesn’t bother him. He is cheerful with his experience and progress.

I just know what my skills are and from that fight with Beterbiev, looking back at the fight with Beterbiev and now, how much smarter and better I am as a fighter and how much more I think,” he said. “Over time, my coach and I have developed my fight game and we have a good game plan.

“I’ve learned so much and I’m just such a placid warrior. And for people who talk, talk about this and talk about this and that, I’m doing something I love and I get paid well for it. So I don’t care what they say.

“I’m ready to fight anyone. As you can see, I fought Beterbiev. Then I fought David Morrell when no one wanted to fight him. I’m ready to fight anyone, why not? That’s why I box.”

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BrianNorman Jr. prepares his father for a shocking comeback after 14 years

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Norman vs Hackett

Undefeated twenty-four-year-old welterweight world champion Brian Norman Jr. he has been coached by his father, Brian Norman Sr., since he was seven years elderly. They changed course and Junior is now training Senior for his February 15 boxing match against Greg Hackett in Atlanta, Georgia.

The long-running feud between Brian Sr. and Hackett came to a head in November when the two participated on Coach Malachi’s Tru Media podcast. Things got heated when Norman told Hackett, “As an opponent, you were getting $400 to basically lose. You lose for a living.

Shortly thereafter, it was decided that they would lace them up and settle them in the ring. The event will be broadcast live on BLK Prime PPV.

Norman (17-11, 5 KO) from Atlanta and Greg Hackett (3-23) from Philadelphia will decide the result in a six-round lightweight heavyweight fight.

“I’m trained by a world champion who I trained to become that world champion,” Brian Sr. said. “He has the knowledge that I gave him. Now he can see this vision of what he is telling me, which is the same thing I was telling him. At the same time, he can visualize himself through me, observing how I respond to instructions. Ultimately, he helps himself as much, if not more, than he helps me.”

So, Junior, you’re getting him back after everything Dad’s been through all these years?

“Has it been a wonderful journey so far,” Brian Norman Jr. said. “I see a lot of similarities between me and him, mainly the drive for self-determination and the desire. It was a wonderful experience to witness. There were a few times when Dad got tired and wanted to stop and I shouted “no, two more rounds.” I have to push him, you know? We don’t like to lose – we’re both very competitive and I see that in him all day long.

“I like the way this fight turned out and it’s good for boxing,” Hackett said. “There’s no animosity here, but I’m going to hate him for eighteen minutes of our fight. There are many people who say they don’t want to go there, but we will go there. I’ve been training since the day it happened. It’s going to be a good fight. I think he’ll push it because he’s a bigger guy, but skill-wise I’m the better player. I just have to be prepared for whatever he brings to the table and make him pay for his mistakes. I will win this fight, whether by knockout or decision. I will win this fight.”

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Deontay Wilder: Warning against throwing in the towel on the fat suit myth

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Deontay Wilder is preparing to return to boxing this year and will face an opponent who has lost eleven times in Curtis Harper.

Wilder is on a losing streak, winning just once in his last five fights. The first of these four defeats remains a huge bone of contention. Wilder exploded with emotion after a one-sided rematch in February 2020 at the MGM Grand.

The “Brown Bomber” blamed everyone but himself for what happened when Fury beat him and put him through seven painful rounds. WBN witnessed the fight in the smoke-filled Garden Arena. Despite the sight, it was clear that Fury was the much better fighter that night.

Fury brought Steward SugarHill into his corner to make him more aggressive. The tactic paid off brilliantly as he regained the world heavyweight title. However, this was not what became the story of the event. Unfortunately, Deontay Wilder took that away from the “Gypsy King” with his post-fight accusations.

Wilder’s main target under his deal was Mark Breland. His longtime coach threw in the towel when the Tuscaloosa player came under massive fire and stared at his feet. But that’s not where Breland went wrong. Wilder’s problem was that the 1984 Olympic gold medalist ignored his previous instructions and never used a towel to end one of his fights.

That’s why Wilder was so irate, as he later told Brian Custer in “The Last Stand.”

“I have been preaching for five years. Never give up on Deontay Wilder,” said the former WBC champion.

The 36-year-old believed he could detonate on Fury at any time due to his one-punch KO skills.

“Deontay Wilder is never out until this is all over, because of my heart, my will and the strength I have. And yes, I really feel like he was part of it and it’s not my place to explain that to anyone. I said my peace and let out my emotions. I said it. People can believe what they want.”

Another story that got out of hand was the massive suit excuse. Wilder pointed out that he only mentioned something behind the scenes and someone in the media blew it up.

“They actually overheard something in the locker room,” Wilder explained. “I’m not justifying the costume. The costume was a bit massive. But it wasn’t enough to make me feel the way I felt in the ring. It wasn’t enough that I had no legs.

Strangely, however, Wilder blamed this part on someone who potentially gave him a demanding time. He will strive to ensure that the decision never falls on Malik Scott, who replaced Breland as coach.

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Ryan Rozicki is waiting for Badou Jack’s consent to mandatory cooperation with the WBC

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Badou Jack Rozicki Mikaelian WBC

The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).

If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.

“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”

29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.

Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.

“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”

Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.

The next move is Badou Jack’s.

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