KNOCKING THEM DOWN

Professional boxing is probably one of the most popular sports in the world. Not every amateur can prove himself a good fighter here and reach the boxing heights. It takes years and few boxers have made a name for themselves as professionals. Azerbaijani boxer Ali Ismayilov has been honing his skills over the last few years; he has already won the WBO (World Boxing Association) Latino belt and is now gearing up for new titles.

Ali has his feet on the ground in the professional ring and is facing stronger opponents with every bout. Whereas, previously, our boxing master won his fights mainly by knockouts, he wins more often nowadays on points decisions. For example, in his last bout against American Max Alexander, the referees gave the verdict to Ali and he registered an important ranking victory. "The bout was a good test ahead of important subsequent matches. This was the first time I had fought a boxer from Northern America and the bout was quite interesting. Alexander turned out to be quite a hard nut to crack, but I found the key to victory. Although I could not knock him out, I won on points. As a matter of fact, a knockout is not an end in itself, because the main thing is the result. Besides, my opponents are becoming stronger and stronger and you cannot knock them out just with just one hand, as it were" said Ali, commenting on the bout.

Ali's promoters are currently looking for a challenger for his next bout, which may take place at the end of the year. "Initially, we planned to fight Turkish boxer Firat Arslan, but he recently lost his belt to a Panamanian. So we are not interested in Arslan at the moment, which is why the St Petersburg promotion company Yagupov & Co, and its president Aleksandr Yagupov, who is in charge of my affairs, are considering other options. Perhaps I will have to fight the holder of the intercontinental WBO belt, Aleksandr Alekseyev. We are planning to hold another ranking bout to start with, and then to meet him in a title bout for the main WBO belt," Ali explained.

Our boxer turned professional after the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he failed to win the medal he wanted. He boxed at two Olympics, but both times returned home without a medal. Ali Ismayilov achieved his first important success in the international arena in 1994 when he took third place in the World Cup. Four years later, he took third place in the European Cup, while in the 1999 season he won a bronze medal at the World Championship in Houston. One year later he won another "bronze" in the European forum; these were all Ali's successes in the amateur ring. Our boxer tried to turn professional after the 2000 Games, but waited for another Olympic cycle, in which success eluded him again. Ismayilov feels quite confident about his new role and intends to reach the heights he failed to conquer as an amateur. In his debut bout, he overcame Vladimir Rumyantsev, beating him inside the distance. "I prepared for an exhausting bout in which I would have to work hard to beat him. But I got my timing right with a precise punch to the jaw, after which the Russian could not carry on. The bout was quite a good start to my career as a professional and I already feel quite confident here," Ismayilov pointed out. Of course, professional boxing is different from amateur boxing, as Ali knows this full well from his own experience. There are differences in the number and length of rounds and, what is more important, in workload. "After the bout, I watch the tape to review my own mistakes and the positive and negative aspects of my performance. When the bout is successful, I simply enjoy the fact that I realized my full potential. Of course, there are always mistakes and no-one is immune to them. You just have to try to eliminate and minimize them so as not to repeat them in the future," the boxer said in sharing his impressions.

As we know, for a successful outcome Ali needs to be properly psyched up beforehand, as this has a positive effect on his performance - he is now doing everything possible to be in good shape for the end of the year.