Idman.biz
The former captain of the Azerbaijan national boxing team, 51-year-old Ali Ismayilov, has celebrated his third consecutive victory in a rating fight.
Recently, "Bronze Ali" (a nickname he earned for the numerous bronze medals he won at world and European championships) entered a rating fight against 28-year-old local boxer Erhan Uzun in Fethiye, Turkey.
The Azerbaijani veteran boxer won convincingly, finishing the eight-round fight in the sixth round with a technical knockout.
Ali Ismayilov, 51, who gave an interview to Idman.biz, spoke about his goals.
- Tell us about how the fight went...
- The fight was expected to be eight rounds, but in the sixth round, my opponent, who is almost two meters tall, was already exhausted. He started well from the first minutes, he was active for three rounds, but then experience spoke for itself. I, on the other hand, conserved my strength, tried to dodge the blows. Starting from the fourth round, I started to increase my speed, responding with double and triple blows. As a result, I surpassed the opponent in the number of blows. In the fifth round, I landed two effective blows on him. He didn't fall, but he leaned on me trying to recover. I already felt that my opponent was tired. In the sixth round, he was already refusing to fight. Apparently, the Turkish boxer realized that he could not withstand my attacks.
- You have a successful winning streak, don't you?
- Yes, this is my third victory in a rating fight. It was nice for me that everyone applauded me and that people were amazed that a 51-year-old boxer can still fight like that.
- It is impossible not to take your age into account. How did you feel after the fight?
- I felt energetic that day. There was no fatigue. The next day I woke up and saw bruises and swellings all over my body. My opponent was young, and his blows were effective. As soon as I got home, I went straight to the steam room to get rid of all these bruises and calluses. But no matter what you do, age takes its toll. The recovery process is not as fast as it was at 25.
Moreover, my speed is not the same as before. In the first two rounds, I saw that Erhan Uzun was faster than me; even if I dodged one punch, the second one hit me. But in the third round, I was able to catch the tempo and the opponent's blows began to miss. It was precisely the inaccurate blows that began to wear down my opponent. My experience allows me to compensate for being behind in speed.
- What are your future plans?
- Currently, there are negotiations about fighting for the championship belt in Prague in October this year and in Berlin in December. I'm not 20 years old anymore to waste time, I need to fight for the title as soon as possible.
- You also own the CIS championship belt...
- I even had the opportunity to keep it (laughs - ed.) Let me remind you that last summer in Moscow I won this belt by knocking out Dagestani Rasul Magomedov in the second round. Everyone was shocked at the time. Many people thought it was a coincidence, so they organized a rematch in May of this year. As a result, I defeated him again.
True, this time I needed an extra round to knock him out. I even felt sorry for him. After the first defeat, he was disheartened, and after the second defeat, he was completely devastated (laughs - Red.).
But I have to win championship belts in more serious tournaments and I hope that I will win another title by the end of the year. In the future, I aim to participate in world-class fights.
Teymur Tushiyev
