On June 23, 1992, the Russian boxer for the first time managed to become the world champion among professionals. On this day, the title of the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight champion won Yuri Arbachakov. In a duel for the championship belt, he defeated Thai Muangchai Kittkeyzeme by knockout in the eighth round, after which he remained undefeated in the ring for another five years.
Arbachakov was born in a large family in the Kemerovo region. The boy was sent to study at a boarding school in Tashtagol, where at the age of 13 he became interested in boxing. The young boxer immediately began to climb up the sports ladder. Before the Olympic Games in 1988, he was already firmly among the best boxers of the USSR in the flyweight category, but could not earn a ticket to the Olympics.
But the next year was a breakthrough. Arbachakov consistently won gold at the championships of the USSR, Europe and the world. Especially hard was the victory at the championship of the planet. In the final, Arbachakov met with Cuban Pedro Orlando Reyes and looked great against his background in the first two rounds, but then missed a blow to the face, causing severe bleeding. The referee stopped the fight, but awarded the victory to Arbachakov - according to the rules of those years, in the event of a stoppage of the fight, the one who led on points won.
The amateur career of the new champion of the world could continue for a long time, but soon he received an unexpected offer to engage in professional boxing. The fact is that at the tournament in Moscow there were promoters from Japan who already had agreements with other athletes. Arbachakov also impressed them, and he received an invitation to move to Japan and start speaking for the famous Kioey-boxing club.
A native of Kuzbass took time to think and eventually agreed. It was a long wait until the next Olympics, and promoters offered good money for those times - the monthly salary alone was about $ 2 thousand, and the fees for victories were even greater.
Soviet athletes were not familiar with the world of professional boxing before, where you need to fight longer and there is no protective equipment, and knockouts happen much more often. In his debut match with the pros, Arbachakov was immediately knocked down, but managed to recover and win ahead of schedule in the third round. To prevent such incidents from happening again, he, along with his comrades, asked coach Alexander Zimin to come to Japan. He began to work with each athlete individually and was able to adapt them to new conditions.
Arbachakov again began to systematically move to the peaks. In two years, he won all 12 fights and even became the champion of Japan.
His first champion fight in his professional career took place at a boxing evening on June 23, 1992 in the Ryogoku Kokugikan Hall - that event was a big event for Tokyo. Even the Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke, who was then at the zenith of his fame, fought on the undercard of the battle of Arbachakov and Kittkeyzeme. After his victory, it was the turn of the Russian boxer to compete for the championship belt.
Arbachakov was well prepared for the fight and in the first round he could have sent the opponent to the knockdown if the gong had not sounded at that moment. The Thai boxer answered with strong blows in close combat and even once found a gap in the defense of the Russian, but he survived. Arbachakov completely replayed the world champion in motion and was able to force him to open in the eighth round, after which he sent Kittickeyzema to the knockout. For the first time, a Russian boxer became the world champion among professionals.
“We are very well prepared for the title fight. The training camp was held in the mountains, and I was ready just fine, which I felt, ”the boxer recalled many years later in an interview with Allboxing. According to him, after laying the foundation of physics at a height, he and his team devoted all the remaining time to working in the hall. There has already been an emphasis on technology and tactics, as well as on work in pairs and sparring. As a result, Arbachakov approached the match in perfect shape.
Arbachakov did not part with his champion title for a long time. Over the next four years, he spent nine successful defenses and sent knockouts out four times. Once the authoritative magazine The Ring even included the Russian in the top ten best boxers in the world, regardless of weight categories. Everything in Arbachakov’s career was wonderful, until in 1996 he met with Japanese Takato Tokushi. The champion won this fight ahead of schedule, but broke his arm. The next year, the Russian spent on operating tables and in rehabilitation clinics.
Return to the ring for Arbachakova was unsuccessful. The WBC ordered him to hold the title fight as soon as possible with the interim champion Chatchai Sasakul from Thailand. The challenger longed for revenge for the defeat in one of the previous battles, while Arbachakov was mentally and physically exhausted. The fight lasted all 12 rounds, and this time the judges gave preference to Sasakul. After the first defeat in a professional ring, Arbachakov completed his sports career, and a few years later returned from Japan to Russia.