26.04.06 – Interview by Geoff McKay: A month ago boxing fans were questioning who Sergei Lyakhovich was, and why he was getting a shot at the WBO heavyweight title. Today, Sergei is sitting on top of the world, having pulled off an upset of Lamon Brewster. ESB sat down with Sergei to discuss the fight, his future, and adjusting to life in the United States. Here is what he had to say.
ESB: Hello Sergei
SL: Hi!
ESB: First of all, could you take us through the fight quickly?
SL: Everybody saw what happened in the ring. We tried, me and Kenny Weldon, we had a tactic to take his left hook away. I move, you know, I don’t stay in one place, sometimes a stay in one place, but I move side to side. He throws a very awkward hook. I don’t want to really reveal too much, what I did, was I took away his left hook. I don’t want to talk too much about it because there might be a rematch down the road..
ESB: At one point you had him hurt. Did you think you were going to be able to put him away?
SL: Yeah, I had him hurt early in the fight, but in the ninth round I was using more speed than power, that’s why I threw a lot of shots. I was going more for number of punches rather than power shots. As everybody knows I was off for a long time, sixteen months, and you will see a lot more out of me next time against Brewster.
ESB: Are you in negotiations for an immediate rematch?
SL: Absolutely, most definitely I will give him a rematch. First of all he has to get healthy because a boxers welfare is really the most important thing. He has got a long life to live and he needs to really get healthy before the fight. Perhaps we would want to fight him again, and were going to make lots of money, (laughs), no, so that’s definitely a fight that were looking forward too.
ESB: Before the fight you said we were going to see a different Sergei Lyakhovich. What did you mean by that, and did you show the different fighter that you wanted to show us?
SL: There is a lot I’m going to work on in the future. I haven’t been busy in a long time. This is just a come out fight for me. Basically I’m working on a lot of different things, more on strength and speed, conditioning, and I’m definitely going to come in bigger and better than ever.
ESB: The reaction to this fight in Belarus must be huge. Have you heard any news from your former home?
SL: Oh yeah, absolutely. Everybody is excited in my country. I spoke with my coach, I spoke with my friends, it’s like, everybody’s excited. My phone has not stopped ringing since after the fight, everybody congratulating me. The whole country is excited.
ESB: I wanted to ask you a little bit about Belarus. We have heard a lot about eastern European boxers beginning to do well, but there have been a few surprises in the last few years. The Belarusian hockey team has done well in the Olympics; Yuliya Nesterenko won the women’s 100 meter gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games. Are we going to see more of this in this in the future?
SL: Actually, you know what, I left my country several years ago, so I don’t know much young athletes coming up. Belarus is a part of the former Soviet Union. We have great schools, and the trainers are great. We have tradition in sports. They teach us how to be tough, how to win and be mentally strong, and we have a great background. We definitely have a good program in sports back home.
ESB: How tough was it to adjust to living in the US.
SL: Basically, it was very tough in the beginning, especially when I didn’t speak the language. Coming close and talking to people was difficult, but now that I have learned how to communicate and speak the language, I am having a great time, and America is my home now.
ESB: Is it true that you thought about competing in Mixed Martial Arts instead of boxing?
SL: I love Mixed Martial Arts. Before boxing I was trained for three years in wrestling. Maybe if I wasn’t in boxing I would try Mixed Martial Arts.
ESB: What kind of things do you do in your spare time?
SL: I love the outdoors. I like hiking and different.
ESB: I understand that. We spend a lot of our time outdoors where I live in Northern Canada.
(At this point Ivaylo Gotzev, Sergei’s manager, added a comment)
IG: Actually Sergei has been talking about taking a hunting trip for some Elk; he wants to go do some Elk hunting.
SL: We don’t know where yet, but Ivaylo told me Colorado is great, so maybe in the future we will do it.
ESB: Thanks a lot for the interview Sergei. I know that before the fight a lot of people were questioning who you were. Do you have any final comments to make?
SL: To all my boxing fans, to the ones that knew me, and the ones that didn’t know me especially, watch for me. Every fight, I am going to show you something new, something different, and definitely a better Sergei Lyakhovich each and every time.
ESB: Thank you Sergei
SL: No problem. Thank you.
Authors note: I have to say that I was immediately struck by the confidence in Sergei’s voice when he spoke. He talked about strategy and rematches as if he was a champion with 10 defenses, not an unknown challenger. I have always said that confidence is very important in a fighter, and, after having this conversation I believe we are going to see great things from Sergei in the future.
I also gathered from Sergei that although he still feels ties with his homeland, he strongly identifies with his new country. As he said, he considers the United States his home.
Comments may be sent to: geoffmckay@monarch.net