“Four rounds will last”: Kurbanov - about a hypothetical fight with McGregor, a fight with Teixeira and Usyk’s rematch with Joshua

- Before the fight with Patrick Teixeira, you deleted all posts on

“Nothing out of the ordinary happened.

I continue to post stories, but I “cleaned” all the posts.

Decided to go back to the 20th century.

Then the boxers lived without social networks, did not talk about their every step.

I want to see what it's like.

- The intention to slightly reduce activity in social networks is directly related to the upcoming fight?

- Maybe.

Now I’m focused on preparation, I don’t bother with the fact that I need to publish something, upload a video, come up with a description for it.

Do fans usually write to you before fights?

- Yes, they express words of support, wish good luck.

Very often they ask for help with tickets

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— Remember what was the craziest thing you had to read before the tournament?

- Sometimes they write: "Magomed, we want to bet on your fight."

I always try to dissuade in such cases.

- Initially, you were supposed to fight Teixeira in December, but withdrew from the show due to illness.

Were there those who accused you of cowardice?

- Of course.

But they were few.

And they wrote exclusively in the comments, not directly.

Nobody told me this to my face.

- As far as you can judge from your stories, you crossed paths with Ivan Shtyrkov in the hall.

How did everything go?

- My coach worked with Ivan on his paws, I myself moved a little with him in pairs.

Boxed together for several rounds.

How would you rate his skills?

— Shtyrkov adds in boxing.

He has a very powerful blow, as they say, "the jar is walking."

Personally, I never doubted that he was good in this aspect.

I noted this for myself four or five years ago, and since then my opinion has not changed.

- At the end of May, Shtyrkov was supposed to make his boxing debut in a battle with Mikhail Mokhnatkin, but she fell through, and Ivan accused the organizers of unprofessionalism.

Did he not tell you what happened?

- We discussed this topic.

But I don't want to say exactly what happened.

Let me just say that he did not like the way the organizers treated him.

That wouldn't suit me either.

Any normal adequate fighter would be hurt.

Has something similar happened to you?

- Not.

In RCC Boxing Promotions, such disrespectful attitude towards athletes is excluded.

We have a serious organization, and such things are considered unacceptable.

- Recently, many MMA fighters try their hand at boxing.

How do you feel about this?

- Fine.

I don't see anything special in this.

If an athlete receives a good offer from a commercial point of view, why not make money?

This is normal.

An MMA fighter walks into the ring, goes four rounds, and takes home a hefty purse — that's great.

But personally, I can't do that.

Would you agree to fight a mixed martial arts fighter?

“There must be a very serious offer for me to consider it.

- Let's imagine that Conor McGregor says: "I want to fight Magomed Kurbanov."

Would you think?

- With Conor, of course, I would have beaten.

- Would four rounds be enough to lay down McGregor?

- Considering his current form, I think 12 minutes would not be enough

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McGregor has a good boxing base.

Conor will last four rounds, and after that it will be possible to knock him out.

Which

- You don't have to go far.

In my opinion, Petr Yan is the best striker in MMA today.

Perhaps there are other strong boxers, but I personally have not seen them.

- In the near future there will be another fight that can be classified as pop-boxing.

Jake Paul could meet Tommy Fury and then Mike Tyson.

Would you like to see a fight between a sports legend and a blogger?

- Of course not.

I have nothing against an exhibition fight, but having a real fight between Tyson and Paul is not serious.

You don't need to do this.

- Are you afraid that Tyson can go to a knockout?

- Of course.

Paul is a big guy.

He weighs under 90 kilograms.

And Tyson is almost 60 years old.

How can they be compared now?

Jake knocked out Tyron Woodley, has good boxing technique.

Especially compared to the current Mike.

- In the next three months, two superfights will take place at once - Saul Alvarez will fight Gennady Golovkin, and Alexander Usyk will have a rematch with Anthony Joshua.

Which of these do you find the most intriguing?

Both are interesting to me, but the fight between Usyk and Joshua seems more interesting.

In September 2021, we could watch a cruiserweight fighter take apart a heavyweight.

I would like to see how professionally Anthony himself and his team work, in what condition and with what plan he will enter the return battle.

At the same time, I do not exclude that the Briton will not change anything.

And then certain conclusions will arise.

- Speaking about the fight between Alvarez and Golovkin, do you see how a Kazakhstani can impose competition on an opponent?

I think Canelo will win by decision.

But we have to see how he reacts to this fight.

If Saul does not draw conclusions after the battle with Dmitry Bivol, appears in the same form, gets tired, then Golovkin can take over.

- We talked with you in April, and then you did not rule out that the battle with Teixeira would take place in the near future.

But eight days later he met with Paul Venezuela Cuesta.

Were you aware of the situation?

“At the time, I didn’t know anything about it.

And after Teixeira unsuccessfully performed at the Golden Boy Promotions show and was disqualified, I thought that the issue of our fight was finally closed.

But at the same time, the promoter constantly told me that if necessary, it would be possible to arrange a meeting.

- When did it become known that you would fight with Patrick?

- Two months ago.

Why did you come back to this idea?

“There was practically no alternative.

There was an option to fight with Andrey Sirotkin, but still they decided that it was better to fight with Teixeira.

So we agreed with him.

- The fight between Teixeira and Cuesta ended in a disqualification in the second round.

Deservedly?

“By all rights, Patrick should have been suspended.

Still, he hit the back of the head, which is prohibited.

But in this situation, it is surprising that the referee dared to make such a decision.

After all, in fact, it was a confrontation between a top boxer and an ordinary journiman.

The battle gave the impression that Cuesta was absolutely no.

He missed a blow and immediately collapsed onto the canvas, began to feign.

I admit that the hit was really heavy, but you can’t say this from the broadcast.

- Especially considering the fact that in boxing we very often see hits on the back of the head, but after most of them the boxers are not even given a warning.

- Yes, even in MMA they hit the ear much harder.

So it's hard for me to say why they did it.

Perhaps everything is so fair in the USA

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One way or another, Teixeira was “leaked”.

I was surprised.

- Surely you have any associations with other boxers when you see Patrick.

Who would you compare him to?

- In my opinion, Teixeira resembles Robert Guerrero, who fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.

Also quite tall, with long arms, with character, and in terms of fighting style there are certain similarities.

- In February 2021, Teixeira lost to Brian Castaño.

Did you notice any weaknesses in the Brazilian?

- I would not say that he has any noticeable gaps.

Patrick is very good, just Castagno did not allow him to do anything: he constantly went forward, pressed.

Yes, Teixeira may not be comfortable working at close range.

And this is logical, because he has long arms. 

- Former

- Once he himself went sick into the ring, and then he said that you should never fight with a temperature.

Let Vorobyov be jealous that I am fighting Teixeira, and not he.

Honestly, I don't really want to answer these statements.

I know him very well, I understand what he wants.

But Sergei is absolutely uninteresting to me.

We communicate really well with him, so these words upset me.

Perhaps Vorobyov really thinks so, or maybe he wants me to lose.

But it normal.

Some come to the hall with the hope of seeing my victory, others - defeat.

- Initially, in the battle with Teixeira, the WBO International title was supposed to be at stake, but due to sanctions this will not happen.

I understand correctly?

— Yes, it will be a regular rating battle.

- Given the current situation, it will be extremely difficult to compete for the belt.

What do the promoters tell you about future plans?

“Actually, there are plenty of options.

The same Timofey Tszyu, Michel Soro, who on July 9 will face off against Israil Madrimov.

The main thing is to agree.

Not everyone wants to go to Russia and box with me.

Some people don't like the terms.

For now, I'm focused on Teixeira, and then we'll see.

- If you leave out Tszyu Jr., who would you like to fight?

- With any of those who are in the top 10 category.

- At one time you said that you would not want to meet with Sebastian Fundora.

Has the position changed?

- If I had a choice, of course, I would not make it in favor of Fundora.

He is two meters tall.

Where should I hit him?

On the leg

?

- You said that Tim Tszyu is not ready to defeat Jermell Charlo ...

- Moreover.

I don't think this fight will happen.

Moreover, both he and his team understand this.

Now there is a lot of hype around their possible duel, but ... Perhaps Tim will be brought together with someone from 69 kilograms, or maybe they will again find someone from 63

two divisions lower.

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So far, he has not fought anyone in his category.

Even the same Terrell Goshey had previously fought in the welterweight division.

I understand perfectly well that boxing is a business.

As much as I want to fight for the world title, the path to it is very difficult and can take a long time.

At the same time, I am aware that this may not happen in the future.

But my team and I are doing our best.

Personally, I consider both the fight with Teixeira and Liam Smith as champions, even if the belt was not at stake.

- Let's say you still got the status of the applicant.

What would you do in a duel with Charlo?

- He goes forward, attacks with deuces.

But I know that in terms of "physics" I surpass him.

In our fight, I would have crushed Jermell, taken his soul.

- In your opinion, which of the current welterweight boxers could handle Charlo?

Perhaps the same Fundora?

- Unlikely.

In the last fight, Sebastian showed all his weaknesses.

Although he is tall, uncomfortable, but not hard.

And when the fight starts, you can do whatever you want with it.

Who, if not him?

- Bahram Murtazaliev, the same Smith.

After losing to me, he won twice ahead of schedule.