The former champion was found for the champion – Newspaper Kommersant No. 8 (7453) of 01/18/2023

Albert Batyrgaziev, the only Russian boxing gold medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics and one of the most promising domestic professional fighters, will fight an extremely important fight in terms of career prospects in February. Lightweight (up to 61.2 kg) Batyrgaziev will meet Panamanian Jesreel Corrales, who at the end of the previous decade owned the champion title and was considered a very spectacular and very dangerous boxer.

The fact that Albert Batyrgaziev will meet in Moscow on February 4 with Jesreel Corrales was reported to RIA Novosti by the coach of the Russian athlete Eduard Kravtsov. According to him, Batyrgaziev is preparing for the fight in Sochi, where “four sparring partners of different styles work with him.” This is an extremely important event in terms of the career prospects of one of the brightest domestic fighters.

A prominent figure in amateur boxing, Albert Batyrgaziev turned pro shortly after the announcement of the coronavirus pandemic. She moved the Tokyo Olympics from 2020 to 2021, but Batyrgaziev was able to take part in it thanks to changes in the regulations that came into force in the past decade. They opened the way for professionals who had previously been banned from participating in the Olympic Games to these competitions. Albert Batyrgaziev took advantage of the opportunity perfectly. He became the only Russian boxer to win gold, winning the competition in the category up to 57 kg, and in the final he convincingly defeated the highly rated American Duke Ragan.

Albert Batyrgaziev, who is now 24 years old, has had a very successful professional career after the Olympics. At the moment, he has seven victories in seven fights on his track record. True, only in the seventh he faced an opponent who, albeit with some stretch, can be called a top one. Two months ago, Batyrgaziev defeated Panamanian Ricardo Nunez on points with a huge advantage. Nunes at one time claimed the championship belt, but could not win it, losing to the famous American Gervonte Davis.

But Nunez’s compatriot, with whom Batyrgaziev will fight in February, is a top fighter with almost no reservations. 31-year-old Jezreel Corrales was once one of the most spectacular and dangerous boxers. In 2016, he won the title of champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA) in the category up to 59 kg in a duel with the famous Japanese Takashi Uchiyama, and then defended it in a rematch with Uchiyama and a duel with Robinson Castellanos. Moreover, in both cases, Corrales achieved a win, despite the experienced knockdowns.

He lost the title due to poor preparation for the next fight – against Alberto Machado. It took place in October 2017, and Corrales parted ways with his status at the weigh-in when he could not meet the category limit. Following this, he lost ahead of schedule, in the eighth round, and still not canceled the fight, although during it at some point he dominated and almost knocked out his opponent.

Shortly after this misfire, Jesreel Corrales suffered two more defeats, dropped out of the elite, but, having decided to move to a heavier category, he returned power. He approached the meeting with Albert Batyrgaziev having a series of three victories in a row, and clearly not in the rank of a hopeless outsider. At least in the classification of the best lightweights BoxRec, Corrales is four lines higher than the Russian – in 18th position.

Alexey Dospekhov