(Montreal) Arslanbek Makhmudov had always passed the K.-O. to his opponents before the final bell. Carlos Takam had no intention of crashing in front of the man nicknamed the Lion: Makhmudov followed a fast-paced master class on Friday at the Casino de Montréal.
Posted at 4:54 p.m.
“I sent him to solid school!” declared Marc Ramsay, his trainer, a few minutes after the fight won by unanimous decision (96-92 twice, 97-91) by Mahmudov (15-0, 14 K.-O.).
Takam (39-7-1, 28 KOs) has delivered on every promise Eye of the Tiger Management has made over the past few weeks. He was finally going to offer Makhmudov an adversary worthy of the name, an opposition that was going to make it possible to really gauge the value of the Montrealer of Russian origin.
“I had mentioned it: Takam was the guardian of the ‘real business’. He was a tough guy, well trained, Ramsay recalled. He went to the mat twice and got back up to continue the fight and be able to stay competitive, even after some severe falls. We faced a real opponent (Friday). »
An opponent who even managed to surprise the stoic 33-year-old boxer.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Coach Marc Ramsay
“I didn’t expect him to be in such good shape,” said Makhmudov, whose English is improving as quickly as his record. I saw his last fights and he was getting tired. […] I was happy to do rounds. I need this experience. I need to be able to do 12 rounds for big fights.
“He impressed me with his experience and physical form. He didn’t get tired and he came back stronger after his two falls to the mat. He’s a good boxer and I’m happy to have done 10 rounds against him. »
Still, the Cameroonian highlighted some shortcomings in the boxing of Makhmudov, who was hit hard on several occasions in this fight, but who claims to have never been in danger.
“It’s not chess, it’s boxing!” “, he imagined joining the words of his promoter, Camille Estephan, held a few minutes earlier.
“It’s not ballet, it’s boxing: at this level, you’re going to get hit! I’m happy, because people doubted his jaw: there, he proved that he has a jaw, that he can make wars for 10 rounds. […] It gives us the chance to evolve. »
I wasn’t really worried. I would have liked him to take fewer hits, to remain better organized technically. But there are also a lot of things that I liked.
Marc Ramsay, coach
In particular the way his protege listened to – and applied – his instructions throughout the fight.
Now, does he expect to get more calls now that his boxer’s perfect record is a thing of the past?
“It’s always possible that people will want to face him more after this performance. It happened to me in the past with other boxers that people fell into this trap. So much the better, that’s also part of boxing. »
The goal for Makhmudov, who successfully defended his NABA and NABF heavyweight belts, in addition to winning the WBC Silver title, remains to fight in the world championship. It might have to wait a few months.
“The fights are already planned a little in advance. You just have to beat the people around the (Tyson) Fury and (Anthony Joshua, in order to stay well ranked and be ready when we get the call, “said Ramsay, who would like his colt to get another fight before the end of the year.
Butler is progressing too
Steven Butler (31-3-1, 26 KOs) also defended his NABF middleweight belt with a knockout. quick to Mark DeLuca (28-4, 16 KOs) in the second round of their clash.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Steven Butler got a K.-O. quick to Mark DeLuca.
After suffering two defeats in a row, including an upset to Mexican Jose de Jesus Macias in January 2021, Butler has now won his last three outings and looks set to reclaim the top-15 in the world, he who was ranked 24e before his WBC fight.
“It was a great win against a guy who fought in the world championship two years ago, stopped in the second round: I think I deserve it,” said Butler. But it’s in the hands of my team. »
DeLuca was also seen as an opponent who would help judge Butler’s progress. This victory satisfied him.
“It’s a victory that tastes good,” he said. Whether we like it or not, we had two falls, against (Ryota) Murata and in Mexico. I was bitter, these were very difficult times. We went up the slope and it’s now three consecutive victories. I’m proud of myself for not giving up when it would have been easy to do so. After those two heartbreaking losses, especially the one in Mexico which came out of nowhere, it would have been easy to give up. I’m happy to have come back stronger. »
“He performed well,” said Ramsay, who also serves as Eye of the Tiger’s head coach. […] We brought in a training partner who was on another level, close to a mode championship. It appeared today. I think Steven is ready to take it to another level. »