Published: 20 February, 2008, 06:25
Edited: 20 February, 2008, 06:25
The title of World Boxing Heavyweight Champion may seem to bring immense fame with it. But, outside the ring, Russian Sultan Ibragimov shuns the limelight. On Saturday he will fight Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko for the World Heavyweight unification belt.
For the past few months, a gym in Florida has become a second home to the 32-year-old WBO Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Sultan Ibragimov.
In the run-up to the bout of his life with Wladimir Klitschko, he spends six to eight hours a day, seven days a week working out, non-stop until he's soaking wet.
His manager, Boris Grinberg, says Ibragimov is a true workaholic.
“He doesn’t have advantages like big muscled body. He has to be prepared for everything. Why he works so hard, because he has to use his own natural power, the power he can get in practice,” Boris Grinberg said.
And it seems to be paying off. Sultan's powerful punches are well known to TV audiences worldwide. But unlike his opponent Wladimir Klitschko, probably one of boxing biggest media celebrities, there's little known about the Russian slugger outside the ring.
Sultan is a private type and isn’t keen on too much attention.
He bought a flat in Florida a couple of years ago and spends half of his time here.
The sunshine state has become a training ground for the Dagestan native.
“Well, yes, I could have been training in Moscow or Rostov. But here I’ve got good sparring partners, good facilities and trainers. Besides, I've got many friends back home, who invite me to parties and events and that puts me off training. Here I can concentrate purely on working out. Here all my trainers and my team live in a house just across the road and we're all together concentrating only on boxing. However, the quality of gyms themselves are clearly getting better and better in Russia now,” Sultan Ibragimov added.
Prior to each fight Sultan has to go on a special diet – and he always cooks for himself.
“I like meat very much. But now I have to eat plain food, like vegetables so that I won’t lose speed and agility,” he explained.
Meat isn’t the only example of sacrifice for this rock of a man. But his brother Ramzan, who's often on the road with Sultan, is there to help overcome hardships.
“It's my first time in the U.S. For some reason they didn’t grant me a visa last year and the year before that. But now I’m here to support my brother. Just as I did in all of his fights he had in Russia and Europe,” Ramzan Ibragimov said.
Sultan keeps all Muslim traditions and prays five times daily even during training sessions. He sings praises to God, and somewhere deep inside is probably asking Allah for strength and just a little luck on February 23.
Klitchsko and Ibragimov flex muscles in public training session
Klitchsko and Ibragimov have been showing their strength during a joint public training session at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.
Up until now Klitchsko has been training behind closed doors, and this is the first chance for many people to see him up close before the Heavyweight Unification fight.
The Ukrainian is the IBF champ, the bigger man with a longer reach. Ibragimov, the WBO king, is shorter and stockier but the Russian has fast hands and a lot of power.
Refreshingly, both stopped short of bad-mouthing each other and talked about their own game plans.
“First of all, I have to perform well, very well. I have to win the fight as impressively as possible,” said Klitschko.
Ibragimov responded, “I worked so hard for this fight. I am still undefeated and I am going to win this fight. And we'll see what’s next”.
To watch the video from the session, please, follow link.
Russia Today will be having Road-to-the-ring updates each day leading up to the Klitschko-Ibragimov fight. Keep watching!
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