A Russia-Ukraine Story 10 Years in the Making

While Russia battles Ukraine on the world stage, two boxers fight not for country, but for legacy, FRIDAY in Philadelphia

Special Top Rank on ESPN telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 15, 2019)  — As Russia and Ukraine dominate the news, both countries have become inextricably linked to the current impeachment inquiry in Washington, DC. Up the road in Philadelphia, two world champion boxers — one Russian, one Ukrainian — are preparing to meet in a light heavyweight unification bout.

As their home countries wage war against each other, their thoughts are 5,000 miles away, focused not on the opponent’s country, but on the man he will meet in the center of the ring at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Friday. The winner will leave the ring as WBC/ IBF light heavyweight world champion.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) is the current WBC light heavyweight world champion, having defeated Adonis Stevenson via knockout in the 11th round of their December 2018 bout in Quebec, Canada.

IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) defeated Gvozdyk when the two met as amateurs, with Beterbiev representing Russia and Gvozdyk representing Ukraine.

Ukraine Arrives on the American Stage

In recent weeks, calls for President Donald Trump’s impeachment became deafening after Ukraine released the transcript of a phone call between its president, former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky  and Trump, which included an exchange about former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Trump urged the newly elected leader to investigate the younger Biden.

The impeachment inquiry will examine whether Trump held up $400 million in aid to Ukraine with the intention of releasing it when the country began an investigation of Hunter Biden, and one into Ukraine’s role in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election — a conspiracy theory, which Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have repeatedly pushed publicly. The premise is that CrowdStrike, a California-based company that was brought in to investigate the Russian hack of the Democratic party’s servers that election year, is owned by a Ukrainian.




Zelensky, who played the President of Ukraine in a television show called Servant of the People for four years, was elected in a landslide victory in April and began his term as Ukraine’s sixth president in May. He’s an unwitting participant in American politics, which was made clear during a 10-hour, informal question-and-answer session last week with reporters in Ukraine. He spoke dismissively about the potential that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election, saying he would have to be shown a reason to proceed with any joint “theoretical” investigation.

Like the boxers training in Philadelphia, who are focused on their fight and not on war and politics, his mind is elsewhere  — working to end the conflict with Russia on Ukraine’s Eastern border.

His constituents, the people of Ukraine, are not focused on American politics and elections.

“The Trump phone call is being covered right now in Ukraine,” said Petro Shugurov, former Ring Magazine Ukraine writer and contributing editor who lives in the country. “Mostly just that Zelensky was involved. The Ukrainian people have enough to worry about with our own politics.”

The American and the Canadian 

While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has a complicated and lengthy history, the roads that led Beterbiev and Gvozdyk to Philadelphia are well-traveled.

“The boxing federations of Russia and Ukraine are very similar,” said Shugurov. “They still operate like they did during the days of the USSR. The Russian Federation is like God Almighty to boxers in Russia. There are a lot of programs to support them, and they receive stipends.”

Both boxers were decorated amateurs. Beterbiev had more than 300 amateur fights and won gold medals at both the World Championships (2009, Milan) and European Championships (2006 and 2010). Gvozdyk had over 250 amateur bouts and won a bronze medal for Ukraine at the 2012 London Olympics.

Gvozdyk is followed closely by those in his home country of Ukraine and Ukrainians stateside, despite moving to California five years ago to focus on his career:

“One month ago, we went to the Ukrainian Festival. There were a lot of Ukrainian people there and I was surprised that a lot of them knew me,” Gvozdyk said. “We spent a couple hours there, signing autographs and taking photos.”

Gvozdyk, whose father had a brief career as an amateur boxer in Ukraine, is living out his dream in California.

“When I asked my wife to come to California with me, to leave her home, she said the most important thing is that I’m going to go with you,” Gvozdyk said of his wife, Daria.

He acknowledges that it can sometimes be difficult to be away from family as the two raise a family, but the kids — two boys and one girl, ages 3-10 — have traveled the world with their parents.

“Our kids are the most quiet kids on the plane when they travel. They don’t cry,” Gvozdyk said. “They know it’s pointless.”

Politics is not a topic that Gvozdyk is anxious to discuss, going so far as to say he doesn’t know what’s happening.  “It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I’m just an athlete. I don’t want to make any parallels to the fight. I am living in California, he is living in Montreal. I just don’t know anything about it.”

“Teddy Atlas, Gvozdyk’s trainer, runs a tight ship,” said J Russell Peltz, who is co-promoting the championship fight with Top Rank. “It doesn’t surprise me that he’s not focused on what’s happening on the other side of the world.”

“Any war is bad for people, but I really don’t want to talk about it,” said Beterbiev, who relocated to Montreal six years ago to further his career.  “It’s far from me in Canada.”

Shugurov hints at other motives at why the boxers don’t want to talk about life in the former Soviet bloc: “They are high-profile athletes and they don’t want to upset anyone. They don’t want to have problems like those that have happened with other boxers.

“Ukrainians and Russians are everywhere and they are like a network. Fighters as a whole don’t want to get involved. They want to make money and not have problems. Beterbiev, he’s Canadian now. Gvozdyk is American.”

Beterbiev’s family life nearly mirrors that of his opponent. Married with four children ages 2-8, Beterbiev lost his father to an accident when he was only 16. His father was just starting to enjoy his son’s career.

“A couple days before he died, I won a bronze medal in a tournament,” Beterbiev said. “He said to me, ‘You won this fight. Now, go. I believe in you.'”

Raising a family away from home hasn’t been easy for Beterbiev and his wife, Medena, though Beterbiev’s mother has traveled to Canada to help.

Much Can Change in Ten Years

Ten years ago, Ukraine was led by Viktor Yushchenko, who had survived an assassination attempt by poison five years prior. There was political chaos and a gas dispute with Russia. Putin was not yet President of Russia, but it was understood that he was in charge of the country. There was tension between the two countries, but nothing that matched the war and hostility they are facing today.

“We had beat Germany together,” said Shugurov. “We fought Nazis together. A whole lot of people believed we should be one country. While Ukraine had a Western-friendly leader, there was a brotherhood between the people of the countries.”

The U.S. had a different president, one not embroiled in an impeachment inquiry permeated by Russian and Ukrainian ties.

Ten years ago, two fighters, one from Ukraine, one from Russia, met in a boxing ring with the Russian besting the Ukrainian. The two fighters, now husbands and fathers, undefeated world champion professionals, living away from home and seeking the glory that comes with unifying world titles, will meet in the most pivotal fight of their respective careers. It’s a fight that transcends politics and war, whose winner, at least in the boxing world, will be declared unified light heavyweight champion.








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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Peltz Boxing, tickets priced at $150, $90, $75 and $50 (not including applicable fees) can be purchased at the Liacouras Center Box Office, www.liacourascenter.com or charge by phone at 800-298-4200.

T-2 Days: Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk Set for Light Heavyweight Title Unification LIVE on ESPN

Berterbiev-Gvozdyk and Luis Collazo-Kudratillo Abdukakhorov welterweight showdown to air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Undercard to stream on ESPN+ starting at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT

• CLICK HERE for PHOTOS
(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

• CLICK HERE for VIDEO

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 16, 2019) — IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev and WBC light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk ended their fight promotion obligations Wednesday at the office of Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz. They posed for pictures in front of the fight poster for the legendary 1962 light heavyweight championship fight between Doug Jones and Harold Johnson, which took place at the old Philadelphia Arena.

Beterbiev and Gvozdyk will add to the city’s light heavyweight legacy Friday evening at the Liacouras Center, a throwback battle befitting a storied fight city.

Before the two combatants posed for photos and faced off at Peltz’s office/museum, they participated in a media roundtable. This is what they had to say.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk

On working with Teddy Atlas

“Teddy demands a lot of his fighters, and I am fine with that. Training camp is supposed to be hard, and we worked together to come up with the necessary game plan to beat Beterbiev.”

“Teddy is very picky, very particular, and this is what you need. Sometimes, you cannot right yourself. Sometimes, you think you’re too tired, sometimes you want to work more, but Teddy knows exactly what you’re supposed to do. And there is no place for argument. First of all, he is a good person because when I met him, I realized that. Like I’ve said a lot of times before, this type of person is already under extinction, probably even non-existent anymore. From his professional qualities, besides his qualities as a human being, he’s very smart, he has over 40 years in this business, and he never loses any small details, which is really important.”

“First of all, my dream is to become undisputed champion. This is the first step, and this is the necessary step. And the second thing is, this is what fans like to see. They don’t want to see champions fight some opponents or journeymen. Tough fights, which fans like to see. For me, it’s a big challenge.”

“For now, only one challenge and one opponent exists for me. I’m not even thinking about any other opportunities. Everything is possible in the future. Maybe go up {in weight} or go down. I think it’s possible, maybe hard, but possible. But again, right now, I’m not even thinking about it.”

Teddy Atlas (Gvozdyk’s trainer)

“Camp couldn’t be better. We got to where we want to be. You gotta go in there Friday night and execute, but everything is in place. Couldn’t ask for more.”

On moving training camp to Philadelphia

First of all, we didn’t have to acclimate to the time difference because we’d be in the same time zone, and being that the weather would still be good, there was no problem with training here on the East Coast. Sometimes, you have to worry about bad weather with training on the East Coast. We didn’t have to worry about that. And not having to get on a plane and go across the country on the Sunday before the fight was a nice thing.”

On fighting a big puncher like Beterbiev

“It’s just, again, a reminder that there’s no room for mistakes, that there’s gotta be full concentration for 36 minutes. You have to fight one round at a time, one three-minute round at a time. Not two minutes and 59 seconds, no. Not when you’re in there with a puncher who can change everything in a moment with one punch, as {Adonis} Stevenson almost did in the 10th round. The reason why he’s a champion is because he was able to handle that and was able to survive that. That’s why he’s a champion. You could look at all the other rounds and say he’s a champion because of this, he’s a champion because of that, he gave angles, he used the jab, he punched at the right time. But he’s a champion because, when the moment came, he behaved like a champion.”

“If there are moments to take bigger bites in this fight, we’re going to take them at whatever time that is. If it’s early, it’s early. If it’s late, it’s late. If it’s middle, it’s middle. He’s got great judgment and instincts, and we’ve put that in place, and I know we can depend on that judgment and those instincts when it’s time to take a bite, small or big. We never want to get greedy. You never want to get greedy, especially with a puncher.”

“I think this fight’s a little different than maybe some people envision it. It’s not going to be exactly the same as the Stevenson fight because we have a guy where there’s going to have to be moments… put it this way, there’s going to have to be moments to take bigger bites with this guy. And that doesn’t mean getting sloppy or careless or greedy, but it means what it means.”

Artur Beterbiev

On the amateur fight he won against Gvozdyk

“I think it was two rounds. But I don’t know, I heard Gvozdyk say I broke his nose. I don’t know that. He said that. It was only two rounds.”

Has Gvozdyk changed as a fighter since then?

“I think so. I changed. He changed. Everybody changed. His face changed, too. A little more hair.”

On starting to train in Russia before moving camp to Montreal

“I went to Russia just for vacation, but I wanted to be, like, active. I went to altitude. I used to {train} there when I was an amateur boxer. I had a good camp there. It was like preparation for our camp {in Canada} for eight weeks.”

On his past promotional difficulties and extended layoffs

“It was a difficult time, but I don’t want to talk about the past. I think the future is more happy. It’s hard when you have court and you have to train and be active. It’s hard, but I did that. Now, I have 100 percent time to focus on my fight and my career.”

Marc Ramsay (Beterbiev’s trainer)

“I’m not going to expose my tactics for Friday night today, but the thing is, when you go into a big fight like this, it’s important that you’re not surprised by anything. This is what we prepared for in the gym, technically, tactically, all aspects of boxing, like speed {and} power. We’re going to bring everything to the table on Friday.”

“We asked our management if we could have {unification} fights right away. This is what Artur wants, what I want as a trainer, and everybody wanted to go in this direction. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but I know it wasn’t very difficult looking back with this fight on the table. We said ‘yes’ right away, first day {it was offered}.”

ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Artur Beterbiev, 12 rounds, WBC/IBF light heavyweight world titles

Luis Collazo vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, 10 rounds, welterweight

ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT

Michael Seals vs. Elio Trosch, 8 rounds, light heavyweight

Josue Vargas vs. Johnny Rodriguez, 8 rounds, super lightweight

John Bauza vs. Donald Ward, 8/6 rounds, super lightweight

Joseph Adorno vs. Damian Sosa 8 rounds, lightweight

Julian Rodriguez vs. Leonardo Doronio, 6 rounds, super lightweight

Jeremy Adorno vs. Misael Reyes, 4 rounds, super bantamweight

Sonny Conto vs. Steven Lyons, 4 rounds, heavyweight

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Peltz Boxing, tickets priced at $150, $90, $75 and $50 (not including applicable fees) can be purchased at the Liacouras Center Box Office, www.liacourascenter.com or charge by phone at 800-298-4200.

Weigh-In Results: Beterbiev vs. Gvozdyk

Liacouras Center (Philadelphia)
LIVE on ESPN, TOMORROW at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Undercard Streaming on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT 

• CLICK HERE for PHOTOS
(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)ESPN (10 p.m. ET)

Oleksandr Gvozdyk 174.3 lbs vs. Artur Beterbiev 174.5 lbs
(WBC/IBF Light Heavyweight world titles – 12 Rounds)

        Luis Collazo 146.4 lbs vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov 147.1 lbs
(Welterweight  – 10 Rounds)

ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET)

          Sonny Conto 214.1 lbs vs. Steven Lyons 201.9 lbs
(Heavyweight – 4 Rounds)

Joseph Adorno 136.8 lbs vs. Damian Sosa 134.7 lbs
(Lightweight – 8 Rounds) 

Jeremy Adorno 121.1 lbs vs. Misael Reyes 121.2 lbs
(Super Bantamweight – 4 Rounds)
  
       Josue Vargas 140.2 lbs vs. Johnny Rodriguez 140.5 lbs
(Super Lightweight – 8 Rounds)

       Michael Seals 174.6 lbs vs. Elio Heraldo Trosch 173.2 lbs
(Light Heavyweight – 8 Rounds)

SWING BOUT

 Julian Rodriguez 142.6 lbs vs. Leonardo Doronio 139 lbs
(Super Lightweight – 6 Rounds)

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Peltz Boxing, tickets priced at $150, $90, $75 and $50 (not including applicable fees) can be purchased at the Liacouras Center Box Office, www.liacourascenter.com or charge by phone at 800-298-4200.Internationally, outside the US and Canada,  Gvozdyk-Beterbiev is
available on FITE, the number one combat sports digital platform. For
more information go to www.FITE.tv.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.comwww.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

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