Shavkata Rakhimov is being replaced by the British – Newspaper Kommersant No. 184 (7385) dated 10/05/2022

In the complex career of the famous Russian boxer Shavkat Rakhimov, who has long been a contender for the champion title in the category up to 59 kg, there has been another unexpected turn. The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has stripped the injured Briton Joe Cordina, whom Rakhimov was supposed to face in November, of his title. Now, for the vacant belt, Shavkat Rakhimov will fight with Kordina’s compatriot Zelfa Barrett, a fighter who has recently won several spectacular victories, but has not yet crossed paths with elite opponents.

ESPN informed about the cancellation of the fight between Joe Cordina and Shavkat Rakhimov, which was supposed to take place on November 5 in Abu Dhabi. According to the channel’s sources, the International Boxing Federation has already informed the Briton that it is depriving him of his featherweight title (up to 59 kg), thus becoming vacant. This decision was due to too long a break in the performances of Joe Cordina. He won the IBF title in June and right after obligated him to conduct a mandatory defense of the title against the official contender Shavkat Rakhimov before September 2. However, later, the structure, having considered the appeal of Cordina’s representatives, who claimed that he was not able to enter the ring before the deadline “for medical reasons”, moved the date of the fight two months ahead. Meanwhile, it turned out that due to surgery on the injured hand, the champion will not be able to compete until March next year.

Instead, another Briton, Zelfa Barrett, who occupies the second position in the IBF rating, has been appointed Rakhimov’s opponent. Joe Cordina, after the end of the treatment, will receive a candidate status, and therefore, the opportunity, without going through the selection again, to meet the winner of the match between Rakhimov and Barrett.

This news marks another turn in the difficult career of Shavkat Rakhimov, one of the brightest domestic boxers.

Despite the fact that Rakhimov started his professional career relatively recently, in 2015, and spent only 17 fights within it, he has repeatedly been close to the champion title.

For the first time, Shavkat Rakhimov got close to him at the end of the last decade. In 2019, he spectacularly knocked out the strong South African fighter Azinga Fuzile in a match, which was positioned as a qualifying match, for the status of a contender for the then vacant IBF title. A fight for him between Rakhimov and the Japanese Kenichi Ogawa was even announced, but it was suddenly canceled due to Ogawa’s injury.

However, in February 2021, Shavkat Rakhimov still entered the championship match. It took place in the Californian Indio, and Rakhimov’s rival was cool American boxer Joseph Diaz, who had an emergency. At the weigh-in, Diaz could not meet the category limit and lost his belt. But in accordance with the IBF regulations, Rakhimov could get it only if he won against Diaz, who, despite the incident, was allowed to participate in the match. Following the results of 12 rounds, one of the three judges recorded the minimal advantage of Diaz, and the other two – a draw, which became the official result, leaving the title vacant. Later, he went to Kenichi Ogawa, and then, this summer, passed into the hands of the meteoric rise of Joe Cordina, who never had a chance to defend him at least once.

In fact, Zelfa Barrett is as much of an enigmatic figure as his compatriot. Formally, he has a good track record. In it, like Shavkat Rakhimov, there is only one misfire (with 28 victories).

Barrett allowed it a long time ago – in February 2018, when he lost to his compatriot Ronnie Clark in a sharp and dramatic duel. After that, he won nine fights in a row, almost all of them in extremely spectacular style, either knocking out opponents or leaving the judges in no doubt about the outcome. The problem is that among these rivals there were no those who can be considered the undisputed elite of the category. The only exception is the Spaniard Kiko Martinez, with whom Barrett managed last year. But Martinez, who once held championship titles, made a name for himself in the lighter categories, and approached the fight with the Briton as a veteran in his mid-40s, going through a career decline.

Therefore, there is nothing strange that many respected resources in the world of professional boxing, such as ESPN, do not include Zelfa Barrett at least in the top ten featherweights. In the BoxRec classification, he, however, is located inside it, but on the eighth line – three below Shavkat Rakhimov.

Alexey Dospekhov