Where is the Dnipro Hulk? :? He never retired, but he's now been out of the ring for 2 years and 3 months. He's only 29, so the door isn't completely shut for him as a heavyweight. He also had a solid foundation built up with a record of 29-1-0-1 (23) including a couple of decent results, and was poised to step up to contender level. ...but... Several attempts were made to arrange a clash with Kubrat Pulev within a year or so of Pulev turning pro. None were successful. In December 2011 he was supposed to come back against Michael Sprott, and that didn't happen. Then this past June, another return was announced (on a scheduled Don King card that was also to feature the return of Samuel Peter in the main event)...and didn't happen. WTF??? Does anyone have the skinny on why his once fairly promising career is wasting away? Not that he'd stand too great a chance against Pulev or Povetkin, let alone the Klitschkos - but he is (or was) better than a lot of these ranked HW pretenders and could help take out some of the trash just by his mere presence, staying active in important bouts. At his best he was more of a player than freaking Wach or Charr, at any rate.
This is his last appearance, at the top of his game before vanishing. http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTc5MTQ3NzA0.html
He was briefly back in the WBA rankings earlier this year, despite his inactivity. Don King probably had something to do with that, and I would assume he's signed to King now. He's been dropped from the WBA rankings now though, as in their infinite wisdom the WBA have decided that massive stars like Jovo Pudar and Raphael Zumbano Love are more deserving of a place in their top 15.
I have no problem with guys being dropped due to inactivity (and then having to earn their spot back; unless you step away from the sport as an active champ there should be no emeritus status) - but why the **** has he been so inactive? There were rumblings of management problems a while back, but FFS - get it sorted. atsch Since there isn't any word out there on him returning to an active training camp any time soon, we're looking at two and a half, maybe three years gone cold by the time he passes through the ropes again. He could literally be crushing a tomato can every 10-12 months and still be ranked. Hell, given the state of the division at present he'd be a preeminent candidate for a title shot even at that rate. I just don't understand how that much time can be squandered. He's a heavyweight prospect who was growing a bit of a name, there was lots of fan demand to see him in with Pulev, he knocks people out - that is a recipe for a moneymaker! Why isn't someone making money off him (and for him)? How the **** does he sit on the shelf so long, during prime years?
I totally agree. I've heard nothing about Platov over the past couple of years other than rumours about management problems, and then every few months, a fight being scheduled on his Boxrec and then disappearing a few weeks later. I list Platov, along with Mike Perez, Bogdan Dinu and Amir Mansour as the HW prospects who need to get their personal lives sorted out and need a massive kick up the backside to get themselves into contention.
