Uzbek boxer to meet American Calvin Brock this week

UzReport June 20 American Calvin Brock, a 31-year-old former Olympian, will try his skills against Timur Ibragimov, of Uzbekistan, on Saturday at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Ibragimov, 31, who now lives in Florida, meets North Carolina's Brock (28-0, 22 KOs) for the IBA Continental heavyweight title and hopes to be included among the fighters from the former Soviet bloc that has a hold on the world heavyweight titles. "I think it's very good for us," Ibragimov (21-0-1, 13 KOs) said about former Soviet Union countries now sending heavyweights into title contention or currently in possession of a world title. Those with belts are WBO champion Sergei Liakhovich, IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBA champion Nikolay Valuev, and fighting for the WBC against the lone American is Oleg Maskaev. He'll be meeting Hasim Rahman on 12 August in Las Vegas. "I don't know what happened, but we're showing everybody we can fight, too," Ibragimov said during a telephone press conference. "Now there are a lot of champions coming from the former Soviet Union." When the Berlin Wall came crashing down back in 1989 and the first rush of East Europeans came racing into the United States, few realized the impact it would have on many sports. Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Poland and the many other countries that formed after the Soviet bloc collapsed have sent athletes pouring into the professional ranks of basketball, hockey and boxing. It's amazing when one remembers the days of the Cold War, and the bitter rivalries between nations. Who can forget the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when George Foreman battled the Soviet Union's Ionas Chepulis? After the second-round knockout, Foreman trotted around the ring with a tiny American flag. At the time, it was just another American heavyweight capturing the gold medal in boxing, as Joe Frazier had done in 1964. Few realized Americans would get shut out of the super heavyweight gold medal until 1984, when Tyrell Biggs captured it as the Soviet Union and Communist countries like Cuba boycotted the games. Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson did not take part in the Olympics in Los Angeles, though he monopolized the amateur scene with skills that rivaled the best professional boxers. "Everybody knows the best heavyweights come from America. Like Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali," Ibragimov said. "But now it's changed before our eyes." Brock knows all about the East European fighters. As an American representative during the 2000 Olympics in Australia, the fighter known as the "Boxing Banker" was eliminated. That year, Great Britain's Audley Harrison captured the gold. No American boxer came home with a gold medal. "I feel like I got a lot to prove," Brock said during a press conference. "Basically, I'm going to go in there and make a statement each time out." Where are the American heavyweights? Brock thinks other sports have taken from the pool of American prizefighters. "It looks like most of the top athletes are playing football, basketball or baseball," Brock said. "I played football and baseball, but I never had a desire to be in a sport outside of boxing. I've been in boxing since I was in 8 years old." Ibragimov agreed with Brock and has one other theory -- the lack of a strong amateur program in the United States. "I think the former Soviet fighters have a lot of experience from amateur school. Maybe this is a point for us," he said. "Of course, a lot of American heavyweights don't have a lot of amateur experience. "When I was an amateur, I was a cruiserweight. I fought in Olympic games in Atlanta. I had 200 amateur fights maybe more. I don't know, but close to 170 or 180 wins." Tony Rivera, a noted trainer who has worked with Roberto Duran and Marco Antonio Barrera and now works with Joan Guzman, said the heavyweights from former Soviet Union countries are hungry with a capital 'H.' "These guys come from poor countries," Rivera said. "It's their only shot to get out of poverty." Ibragimov said American fighters still have advantages despite the lack of amateur experience. "European fighters will stop if they are not winning," Ibragimov said. "But American fighters keep coming. They don't stop." Brock is like that, too, Ibragimov said. "He's a good fighter, and he's got a lot of heart," Ibragimov said. Brock wants to take on all of them, one by one. "I don't have anybody in particular that I want, just the pecking order," Brock said.