New Zealand middleweight boxer Andrei Mikhailovich doesn’t hesitate when asked why he is so confident about beating Kazakhstan’s Zhanibek Alimkhanuly for two world titles next month.
“He’s human, he’s a man with two arms and two legs,” Mikhailovich told 1News beside the ring at Peach Boxing’s gym in West Auckland. “He’s a good boxer but I’m a good boxer too.
“I just know who I am and what I’m about. I’ve come from nothing and I’m going to the top. That gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve done a lot with my life. I’m proud of who I am.”
Mikhailovich, 26, will fight Alimkhanuly for the IBF and WBO middleweight world titles in Las Vegas on July 13.
It is the realisation of a dream more than 10 years in the making and the challenge will be enormous.
Alimkhanuly, a 31-year-old southpaw, is, like Mikhailovich, undefeated as a professional, but has fought more than 300 times as an amateur and is regarded as a tough and highly skilled technician in the ring.
Of the four current middleweight world champions, Alimkhanuly is regarded as the best.
The New Zealand middleweight boxer's bid for glory in Las Vegas next month will be a huge challenge, but he's used to beating the odds. (Source: 1News)
So, the odds are against Mikhailovich, but he’s beaten them before.
He was born in St Petersburg, Russia, and, along with his twin Nikolai, was taken from an orphanage at the age of 18 months and brought to New Zealand by his adopted parents Marcel and Paula Driessen.
As a father of a four-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, Mikhailovich now finds it difficult to talk about his early years but says: “That’s part of who I am. Me being Russian and being adopted – they’re major influences on who I am.
“That’s why I’m hungrier than a lot of fighters, that’s why I’m aggressive. That’s why I have a chip on my shoulder. Then you have an opportunity to do great things and be somebody.”
Long-time trainer Isaac Peach, a former New Zealand middleweight champion, agrees.
“This is what we’ve been working for. It’s the pinnacle.
“He’s confident, he believes he’s going to win this fight and it’s my job to get a game plan together to make that happen. Andrei was born for this moment. It’s in Vegas which makes it even better – he wants that, that’s his dream.
“We’re gonna shock the world and Andrei is gonna be a star on July 13.”
Mikhailovich, an aggressive boxer, has fought only three times in the last two years. Will the relative inactivity hurt? Not necessarily, he says. Besides, Alimkhanuly has followed a similar recent schedule.
Mikhailovich last fought in April when he stopped veteran Les Sherrington in the first round in Sydney and before that 12 months earlier when he knocked out Venezuelan Edisson Saltarin in an entertaining scrap on Auckland’s North Shore.
Saltarin is also a southpaw – a positive sign, perhaps - and although Mikhailovich was knocked down in the first round, he was unhurt and dominated the rest of the fight before a stoppage in the fifth, a sequence of events which began with a blow to Saltarin’s liver.
Mikhailovich has two training camps in Australia planned before his departure for the United States. Sparring quality fighters in preparation will be key, along with the removal of the distractions of normal day-to-day life.
“Right now, at 26, I feel like I’m maturing as a fighter,” he says. “I’m older, I’m still young at heart but I’m more mature and I think my trainers would attest that I’m an extremely hard worker. Yes, I can talk the talk but my work ethic is almost unmatched and I’m proud of that.”
He adds: “If I wasn’t boxing I would have been drinking and smoking lots of drugs or I’d be in the SAS. I love the discipline of boxing. Professionalism in boxing is what you do inside and outside the gym. I love that.”
Peach, who is the trainer of current super bantamweight world champion Mea Motu, last year took fellow Kiwi David Light to a light heavyweight world title attempt in Manchester.
Asked what he has learned from those experiences, Peach replies: “Don’t get ahead of yourself or think you’re special.”
Mikhailovich confirms it’s a tough environment.
“It’s not a gym that easy. There is time for fun… but it’s intense. You have to be committed. The whole thing with Peach Boxing is that you have to be the best.”
Asked again about the opportunity in front of him, Mikhailovich replies: “It’s not something I’m scared of or worry about. I sleep well at night. I think I deserve to be here. I’ve worked hard for years. I feel like if you want it and speak it you can achieve it. I’ve had my moments – ups and downs – but it’s crafted me into the person I am.”
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