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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Zachary Wohlman Working with Ring of Hope

California native Zachary Wohlman moved to Texas last year to run the Ring of Hope Boxing Club in South Dallas, which aims to help at-risk youth find direction through boxing. He currently runs two programs with a third opening up in the Dallas area shortly.

You can click here to watch an inspiring video of Wohlman showing former world champion Paulie Malignaggi around the gym and explaining what the program is all about.

To learn more about Ring of Hope, click here for their website and click here for their Facebook page.

Monday, July 27, 2020

David Alaverdian is 2-0

Super flyweight David Alaverdian, an Israeli-born resident of California, is 2-0 as a professional. BoxRec just recently listed his debut, a first round knockout against Irvin Canela on December 7, 2019 at Gimnasio Mariano Matamoros in Tijuana, Mexico.

Canela, a 29 year old from Mexicali, Mexico, doesn't exactly possess an enviable record. Falling to 0-7 after the Alaverdian contest, Canela had been stopped in each of his bouts. Alaverdian was only the second man to stop Canela in the first round. The Mexican fighter's first four opponents were a combined 28-2 when he faced them. His fifth opponent was the same man as his fourth and his sixth foe sported a mediocre 6-10 record.

Alaverdian won his second fight on February 29 in Hermosillo, Mexico. Gustavo Javier Chavez Cordova threw wild shots that Alaverdian was able to avoid using his quick feet. Two minutes into the bout, Alaverdian landed a left hook to the body that paralyzed his opponent. Chavez Cordova rose  off the canvas before referee Octavio Lopez reached "diez" but Lopez wisely decided to wave of the fight anyway.

Chavez Cordova also sports an unenviable record. He is 0-7-1, but has only been stopped five times. The combined record of his opponents is even better than that of Canela's adversaries. Since his debut, a draw, Chavez Cordova's opponents were a combine 43-3-2 when stepping into the ring with him.

The coronavirus pandemic has naturally slowed the progress of Alaverdian's boxing career.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Lazarev Fight Canceled

Igor Lazarev was scheduled to face Kristian Bejko last night in Vlore, Albania. The entire card was initially postponed and now officially canceled due to the coronovirus restrictions. The weigh-in had gone on as planned the day before.

Albania currently has 1,866 open cases of coronavirus-19, and 134 people have died of the virus in the country. The prevalence of the virus has increased over the past month with the country averaging just under 100 new cases a day. Vlore county has had 191 total cases and four people have died.

Albania, along with most of the rest of the world, essentially went into lockdown in mid-March. Restrictions were gradually eased throughout the month of May. International travel into the country resumed on June 22. Some restrictive measures have recently returned since the surge of the virus. As of July 15, masks are required inside buildings. Nightclubs and bars were closed again on July 20.

Initially, there was a question if Lazarev would even be allowed out of Israel. Israel has experienced a total of 61,000 cases of the virus and 464 people in the country have died as a result. Daily cases and death have increased in Israel during July. Once Lazarev made it Albania, it seemed as if he had leapt the biggest hurdle. The last-minute cancellation is very disappointing for all the boxers who trained, made weight, and traveled to the venue.

Lazarev will return home tomorrow and hopes to fight again in September.

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Local Police Postpone Lazarev's Fight

Igor Lazarev was scheduled to face Kristian Bejko today in Vlore, Alabania, but the entire event has been postponed and possibly canceled due to "technical reasons" according to Unioni i Boksit Shqiptar's Facebook page.

The weigh-in took place under normal conditions yesterday except there more masks than usual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Lazarev registered at 131.4 pounds. Three hours ago, a post about the cancellation surfaced on the Albanian Boxing Union's Facebook page.

According to a co-promoter of the event, local police showed up with a restriction order. Negotiations between the promoters and officials lasted for several hours in an attempt to move forward with some part of the card, but ultimately nothing was decided. It is possible that the event in some form or fashion could take place tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates.

Friday, July 3, 2020

Ostroumov Starts Career with a Win

Super middleweight Mikhael Ostroumov won his professional debut last Saturday against Karen Avetisyan at USC Soviet Wings in Moscow, Russia. Ostroumov won by second round TKO.

A baby-faced 22 year old southpaw from Israel, Ostroumov had an experienced amateur career. In his first prize fight he came out throwing big shots and consistently attacking Avetisyan's body with right hooks and straight lefts. Avetisyan was convinced early to mostly cover up. Two minutes into the fight, he remembered he was in a boxing match and fired the occasional telegraphed punch from that point onward.

Mikhael Ostroumov continued to treat the 36 year old Avetisyan's body like a heavy bag into the second round. After three minutes and 34 seconds of watching Ostroumov pound away on Avetisyan, referee Alexey Kozlov decided he wanted to do something else and stopped the fight in a quiet moment. Outwardly, Avetisyan looked puzzled, but inwardly he was likely relieved and pretty sore.

In the United States Karen is almost exclusively a woman's name, but Avetisyan is undoubtedly a man, and a tough hirsute one at that. Born in Armenia, he moved to Russia for a professional boxing career that began in 2006. He has now lost his last 17 fights and hasn't had a win in 30 bouts. But this, his 47th fight, was only his sixth stoppage loss. He even went to six-round distance with Sergey Kovalev in 2010. Avetsyan's record falls to 9-34-4 with 4 KOs.

Ostroumov showed two noteworthy flaws in an otherwise impressive debut. He lunged forward too much when throwing the jab and he also found himself squared up right in front of his opponent on a couple occasions. Avetisyan wasn't an opponent who could take advantage of those flaws, but Mikhael will meet someone in the future who can. Nevertheless, Ostroumov showed a good level of boxing intelligence with his body punches, his varied combinations, and his ability to change levels within a combination. After he was announced as the victor, Mikhael backflipped in celebration.

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Introducing David Alaverdian

David Alaverdian is a super flyweight who recently turned 27 years old. Born in Israel, he now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada in the U.S. Alaverdian embraces his Jewish and Armenian heritage.

David represented Israel as an amateur boxer. Listed at 5'5", he had a notable amateur career participating in multiple world championships as a flyweight. He also took part in the World Series of Boxing, a tournament that straddles the line between professional and amateur boxing. Alaverdian officially turned pro earlier this year.

On February 29, Alaverdian defeated Gustavo Javier Chavez Cordova by TKO in the first round of their bout at Gimnasio Juan Francisco Estrada in the city of Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico. Referee Octaviano Lopez stopped the fight after two minutes. Chavez Cordova was 0-6-1 at the time of their bout, but he has been in tough so far in every fight of his career. It was the fifth time he has been stopped and the second time in the first round.

Alaverdian is a good body puncher, an attribute that is less common in the amateur ranks than in the pros. His best punch is a left hook to the body.