So yes, first off, just to get it outta the way - he does share the same ring nickname as Saúl Álvarez, which is somewhat odd, as being a ginger Russian isn't quite as strikingly unique as being a ginger Mexican, but whatever. That isn't really what merits attention with Urvanov. The redhead from a suburb of Yekaterinburg performed admirably in the unpaid ranks, never climbing past enough of his domestic rivals to make the national team but handily defeating plenty of touted boxers from other countries. At the Veles Cup (an international amateur tourney pitting squads from Russia, Ireland, Germany and the USA together) in 2012 he schooled American standout Christian Bermúdez of the USA by an 18-4 score and slugged his way by Irish pug Michael McDonagh of Ireland 9-6. Since turning over he is 6-1, losing only his pro debut to Mikhail Alexeev. No shame there; Alexeev has a shelf littered with amateur trophies and is currently 7-0 professionally & set to compete tomorrow for the vacant WBO Youth super featherweight title versus Romero Duno of the Philippines, currently 9-0 with 8 kayos. Alexeev is also naturally bigger than natural featherweight Urvanov, though an inch shorter - campaigning so far mostly at lightweight. His style was pro-ready from the jump, as he is a pretty good ring-cutter who doesn't mind waiting in a deep-seated crouch to ambush once he gets in range and draws a lead - and he isn't susceptible to getting snookered by feints. His power is middling but he makes the most of what he does have, and his intelligent front-foot pressure is enough to get him in position to land in volume to grind opponents down. He was all set to face 10-0 (5) Rimar Metuda on a German Titov card tomorrow (headlined by Dmitry Mikhaylenko vs. Charles Manyuchi) - like his old foe Alexeev, vying to capture a vacant WBO Youth title, in this case the International 126lb version, and to disabuse a Filipino of their zero. Now we reach the sit-up-and-pay-attention part. Canelo attended the weigh-in today and fainted & collapsed from dehydration. Let that sink in. This is someone that just recently made 126lbs, in February, pitching a shutout to capture the vacant Russian featherweight title over 10 rounds. That means he was comfortable enough to not fade and give away points his first time ever going past the eighth, hardly indicative of being tight at the weight. He also spent years consistently making 57kg in the amateurs (which is a shade under 126lbs). Recently a Chinese mixed-martial-artist died after similarly passing out from dehydration at the weigh-in. Couch potatoes like to harp on how 'a couple of pounds don't matter' and make out as if coming down in weight (be it a full division or a catchweight) is no big deal - but y'all DKSAB. The struggle is real - and every bit as potentially life-threatening as the whole "taking blows to your head for a living" part of the game. Even what should be a 'routine' cut for a boxer very comfortably familiar with a limit can abruptly, overnight, become nigh impossible without seriously compromising one's health. Just something to mull over. Hopefully this gets called off (rescheduled, preferably) - and shame on the Yekaterinburg commission if they still throw him in with Metuda despite this incident. :-(
"The struggle is real - and every bit as potentially life-threatening as the whole "taking blows to your head for a living" part of the game." And combine having partially depleted brain vessels with being punched in the head, and it's surprising there haven't been more death. Still countless matches have been ruined with boxers that collapsed under punches that wouldn't have phased them as much were they not like dry raisins just 24 hours before. There are reports of wrestlers being knocked out cold in wrestling competitions, where dehydration is pushed to the very limits- let that sink in, athletes that don't even hit each other in the head lose consciousness as a consequence of simple body shakes and vibrations- that's how bad dehydration is for the brain. **** dehydration and all the corrupt vultures that let it stay (in boxing, of all sports) just because it allows more ridicolous weight classes climbing careers, more matchups, more ducking, more moneys.
Canelo's outing in February, outpointing Alekey Shorokhov (also a redheaded Russian, coincidentally & confusingly - and wearing the same color trunks & boots. :!: Urvanov is the slimmer, lankier man with no tattoos) for the Russian featherweight title (100-90 on all three cards): [yt]oRsHBPTuruo[/yt] Zero warning signs of weight-drain. That was 3 months ago.
The kid is only nineteen. :!: Really hoping they do the right thing and preserve his long-term future by not throwing him in the ring tomorrow after what happened today.
All the assholes who pretend like Cotto didn't have an edge over Geale need to read this. But it won't make any difference to their dumb asses.
Skip to anywhere from about 25 minutes into that video until the 40 mark. Last few rounds, and Urvanov was setting a high pace, throwing bombs in combination, and still alert enough to cover up and block everything when Shorokhov (game & tough but just not on the same level) mustered up some counters. Looked fresh as a daisy, no worse for the wear. In other words - he wore 126 like a glove. Within the last three months. Yet this week, very suddenly, it became a chore that pushed his young body to its limits and caused him to severely dehydrate himself until the point that he collapsed unconscious. A well conditioned nineteen year old athlete. If you don't appreciate how scary that is, think it over for a minute. And then reconsider next time you want to niggle over this or that boxer having an issue cutting an extra pound or two just to accommodate some "A-side's" catch-weight demands.
If this kid is fed to Metuda by irresponsible handlers and suffers a brutal KO loss, I'm going to be pissed. They should have already pulled the plug on that match by now.
Really exciting fighter, Karl is. Saw him live two fights ago in Texas and I managed to get the whole arena chanting "Canelo." It was great. Weird that he hasn't fought since November.
This card will air from 3pm Moscow time, by the way (7am EST) but will drag on for many hours as it will be a mixed boxing & MMA event and there are nine boxing matches alone - two of them scheduled for 12 rounds. Again, it would be nice to see that number axed down to eight, for Urvanov's sake.
