The US representative was afraid of the power of Murat Gassiev’s attacks and refused to fight at the first opportunity.
On September 30, Russian boxer Murat Gassiev will have another fight against a dangerous opponent from Sweden, Otto Wallin. But Zhelezny was never intimidated by the impressive records of his opponents, quite the opposite.
In the most important fight, the undefeated American retreated from the ring at the first opportunity, leaving our athlete without a victory.
“I have a special talent”
By the end of 2015, Gassiev came close to the top of the first heavyweight division. Murat, at the age of 22, received the right to a challenger fight, which gave him a chance to fight for the IBF belt. Our boxer’s opponent was the undefeated American Isaiah Thomas, who at that time occupied 13th place in the federation ranking.
But the low position could be misleading – the US representative ended all 15 fights in the professional ring with victories. For Gassiev, the fight was dangerous in all respects, because Murat did not gain anything much from victory, and defeat would have hit his reputation hard.
Moreover, in his homeland, Thomas was predicted to have a great future. In the early stages of his boxing career, he was noticed and invited to his gym by the famous Emanuel Steward, who worked at various times with 41 world champions.
“For many years, Emanuel gave me hope, telling me that I would become a world champion. “He said that I had a special talent and praised my natural abilities,” Thomas said after the death of the coach.
The choice of a dangerous opponent was explained quite easily: none of the heavyweight boxers wanted to take on Zhelezny’s powerful blows.
— Thomas is in 13th place in the ranking, but all the boxers before him refused for various reasons and circumstances. And, for example, Marco Huck was simply not allowed in because he lost early. Rakhim Chakhkiev’s team immediately refused, this happened a long time ago, said Gassiev’s representative Alexey Vasiliev in an interview with RIA Novosti Sport.
Murat Gassiev and Isaiah Thomas / Photo: © Personal archive of Murat Gassiev
Fatal blows
For a first heavyweight, Thomas had very unusual dimensions. The American had long arms and was of normal height. This feature made it possible to meet Gassiev at a distance with awkward jabs in the opening round. In attempts to break into close range, the Russian often bumped his head into his glove.
Murat neutralized Thomas’s advantage in arm span in the second round. He began to calmly move to medium and close range, where he planted the hardest blows to the head and body. By the third segment, Gassiev’s advantage became overwhelming.
It seemed that the knockout would take place in the near future, but at the end of the third round an incident occurred that even Gassiev probably could not explain. After the gong, for some reason the Russian delivered two uncritical, but sensitive blows.
The American was shocked, but remained standing. He calmly reached the corner, where strange things began to happen. First, the team persuaded the boxer to sit down, and then began to signal that the American could not continue the fight. At the same time, at the moment the judges made the decision, Thomas calmly walked around the ring, waving his arms. Due to the small number of rounds conducted, Gassiev was not disqualified, declaring the fight invalid.
Murat Gassiev and Isaiah Thomas / Photo: © Personal archive of Murat Gassiev
“I’m sure I would have knocked him out”
Thomas’s action did not find support in boxing circles. Gassiev’s representative Alexey Vasiliev especially did not hold back his emotions.
“No matter what Isaiah Thomas said after the fight, absolutely everyone saw that he wet his panties with fear. Murat took the fight into his own hands, and everything was going towards the fact that the opponent would not make it to the sixth round. We, of course, are upset, our fighter did not have time to show even a tenth of what he can do,” Vasiliev said.
Gassiev, who was ready to get another early victory, shared a similar opinion.
“I felt very good in the first three rounds. He cut the ring well and shook it. I’m sure I would have knocked him out,” Gassiev said.
Thomas, instead of demonstrating his skills in the ring, chose to spread demagoguery in the press.
“I would have won if it weren’t for that blow after the gong.” “He broke the rules and the referee stopped the fight,” the American said after the fight.
Either it was karma, or a coincidence, but in the professional ring the once promising Thomas fought only two fights after that, and both of them ended in inglorious defeats.
Live broadcasts of boxing fights take place on the Match TV channel, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
2023-09-29 14:27:36
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