Chagaev takes on Virchis in Hamburg

21.02.06 – Hamburg – Don’t worry if the ground will be moving on March 11. It will be no earthquake. It will be two elemental forces who clash on the undercard of the WBA middleweight championship between Felix Sturm and Maselino Masoe. In a thrilling heavyweight matchup “White Tyson” Ruslan Chagaev of Universum Box-Promotion takes on Vladimir Virchis “The Hunter” off the Spotlight team..

The 27-year-old Chagaev, who experts like to compare to legendary ex-champ Mike Tyson because of their similar physiques and styles, is fighting for Universum since November 2003. The Hamburg based Uzbekian is undefeated at 19-0-1 with 16 knockouts. He just gained revenge for the single technical draw in his record by brutally knocking out American Rob Calloway in round two on January 7.

„In the fight between Chagaev and Virchis there is only one possible winner to me: Ruslan Chagaev”, Universum coach Artur Grigorian said, a former boxing world champion who origins from Uzbekistan like Chagaev.

“Ruslan is the better boxer and his does have the better technique. He’s the stronger fighter in general. As a former boxer I can see this clearly. Of course Ruslan has to beware the very hard punch of Virchis.“

„Ruslan has the character of a boxer and a fighter. He doesn’t play games in the ring. He is always fully concentrated. In training he works like an ox. He’s always working out diligently, no matter whether the trainer watches him or not. If you order Ruslan a workout he is doing twice as many repetitions. I really see no chance for Virchis.”

„Chagaev has a bright future. In Uzbekistan he is already as famous as Muhammad Ali”, Grigorian added. “Since becoming super heavyweight amateur world champion everyone in his home country knows him.”

The appearance and the record of his opponent Vladimir Virchis is impressive. The 32-year-old man from Kiew, Ukraine, is 20-0 with 17 knockouts. Virchis is a massive fighter of 245 lb. on a muscular 6-foot-5 frame – three inches taller than Chagaev.

In March 2005 Virchis knocked out Spotlight prospect Taras Bidenko in round twelve in one of the most dramatic boxing fights in Germany last year. This victory opened the doors for Virchis to enter Dietmar Poszwa’s Spotlight stable.

Since January Virchis is preparing in Kiew with his new coach Anatoly Klimanov, a former European amateur champ.

„Virchis is working out with high intense and he is already in very good shape“, his adviser Oleg Hug said. “He sparrs with hard punching southpaws to get ready for Chagaev.”

„How we want to defeat Chagaev? By knockout of course. We are not going to try to win on points. We will knock Chagaev out.”

“This fight means a lot to Virchis, first of all the result of course”, Hug knows. “A victory over Chagaev could earn Virchis an immediate world title shot. I’ve seen that the betting odds are heavily against Virchis. But we’re not worried by that. Nobody believed that Virchis would beat Bidenko either, and before him Balu Sauer, and before him Cliff Couser, the half brother of Mike Tyson. Each time Virchis surprised everybody.”

The fight between Chagaev and Virchis will be for the intercontinental heavyweight titles of WBA and WBO.

In the main event at Color Line Arena German middleweight star Felix Sturm challenges New Zealand’s Maselino Masoe for the WBA title. In the second WBA world title fight of the evening Wladimir Sidorenko is defending his bantamweight crown against Ricardo Cordoba from Panama.