Where is the ex - soviet welterweight star????

[bumdujour]

Boxers from the former USSSR have made a big impact on the heavyweight devision as we all know.

but what about the devision with arguably the deepest talent pool??

welter is stacked with "players" from the US and latin america.
but going down the list of contenders, i only found a guy called yury nuzhnenko who has a good record.

can he go all the way???

or is there anyone else who can beat or at least hang with guys like williams, cintron, mayweather and the rest of the contender pack????

[Alcaldemb]

Guys from the former Soviet Union have made their impact mostly from 154 to 200+. Aside from Tszyu, Sidorenko and Darchinyan the truth is most people from Eastern Europe just aren't that small.

[bumdujour]

i dont think so cause they have good fighters in the amateurs at this weight.

[geppy]

Russian Oleg Saitov is a Two time Olympic Gold Medalist and World Amatuer Champion at Welterweight. Saitov does not want to turn pro though, it looks like. There is many Eastern European fighters like him, who dont want to fight profesional.

[geppy]

Saitov won the Olympic Gold medal at Welterweight in 1996, and 2000. Bakhtiyar Artayev from Kazakhstan won the Gold at Welterweight in the 2004 Olympics. So indeed Bumdujour, there has been great success for former Soviets at Welterweight.

[SavonSolis]

I dont know about Welterweight but after the 2008 Olympics Tishchenko might bulk up a little bit and he'll most likely be a 2x Olympic gold medalist.. He'll be a force in the pros

[Alcaldemb]

Originally Posted by bumdujour

i dont think so cause they have good fighters in the amateurs at this weight.

They do, but the reason for the dominance of say Hispanics and Asians as lighter weights has a lot to do with the fact that most of their boxers are smaller. I think there are talented smaller East Euro fighters, but that the bulk of their guys are really from middle and up.

[Odo]

Originally Posted by geppy

Saitov won the Olympic Gold medal at Welterweight in 1996, and 2000. Bakhtiyar Artayev from Kazakhstan won the Gold at Welterweight in the 2004 Olympics. So indeed Bumdujour, there has been great success for former Soviets at Welterweight.

Arteyev would be a great pro,but I guess that he is hardly marketable in the big western pro box markets.
There are a lot of talented fighters at this weight division in the countries of the former soviet union,but markebility the most important factor in the paid ranks.
A good example is Cuban heavy Gomez who is no draw at all-neither in the usa nor in germany.
Far lesser skilled rivals receive far higher purses.Why?Markebility.
Artayev is a great boxer,but he is asian,from kazakhstan,doesnt speak english or german,and he is no heavy weight.

[avk47]

Saitov wanted to be a journalist after boxing, but that life didn't seem interesting for him, and he is now involved in boxing related stuff, being a trainer and organizing youth sports programs etc.

Personally, I think Saitov was a great amateur, but his style of boxing was built for the computer scoring system. He was no puncher, and although effective, his style wouldn't generate the excitement of most pro boxing fans - who do not appreciate a very technical, point scoring style. For this reason, i doubt he would have made an exciting pro prospect.

[avk47]

Artaev on the other hand would have made an awesome pro. He has now moved up to middleweight I think.

[UKITAZ]

I wonder if Dzindziruk could make Welterweight for a superfight ???

[Odo]

Originally Posted by avk47

Artaev on the other hand would have made an awesome pro. He has now moved up to middleweight I think.

I quite agree with you,avk!
Saitov 's style wasnt the most exiciting one out there.Thats for sure!
Though he would have been quite successful at the pros,too,I for my part somehow doubt that he would have been able to make a lot of money at the paid ranks.Who really wants to watch another Svenk Ottke outside Germany?

As for Artajev his style is made for the pros,but his markebility is quite limited in the big pro boxing markets to his ethnicity and background.

[avk47]

Originally Posted by Odo

I quite agree with you,avk!
Saitov 's style wasnt the most exiciting one out there.Thats for sure!
Though he would have been quite successful at the pros,too,I for my part somehow doubt that he would have been able to make a lot of money at the paid ranks.Who really wants to watch another Svenk Ottke outside Germany?

As for Artajev his style is made for the pros,but his markebility is quite limited in the big pro boxing markets to his ethnicity and background.

Yep, I see something in the Ottke comparisson, although personally I like the effectiveness of his style.

As for Artaev, well, Raimkulov (kid diamond) is doing quite well for himself. Artaev is Val Barker cup winner, Olympic champion and would excite people of any nationality. If he wants to go pro, I think he could do well. What he needs is a good promoter behind him, someone who can market his exciting style, and I think he could do well.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by Odo

As for Artajev his style is made for the pros,but his markebility is quite limited in the big pro boxing markets to his ethnicity and background.

Japan might be worth a try for asian fighters though, Arbatchakov and Nazarov went down that road. Edwin Valero and Jorge Linares are also based in Japan so there should be some decent money to earn.