Alaverdian Hopes to Fight in the U.S. in January

In an interview with Mike Orr on his show Knuckle Up, David Alaverdian said he hopes to fight in January in the United States against an opponent higher in the ranks than himself. Alaverdian has an ambitious plan. Though just 5-0 with 4 KOs, the 28 year old U.S.-based Israeli hopes to fight for a world title by the beginning of 2023.

David's head coach is legendary trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. "I come from a little town in Israel, the country itself doesn't have [hardly] any boxing in it, I used to train in a bomb shelter..." Alaverdian told Orr in an endearing display of disbelief. "Then I come to train in the United States, in the mecca of boxing, Las Vegas, and I'm being trained by the guy I was watching on tv! You gotta be kidding me! It just blows my mind. I don't believe what's happened to me."

Alaverdian has the speed and the skills to make good on his ambition even if he doesn't yet have the résumé. He has yet to face a fighter with a winning record although that is not unusual for boxers with his level of pro experience. It is unusual, however, for a fighter with his ambitious timeline.

But his biggest obstacle to moving up the ranks so quickly might just be the numbers. BoxRec lists only 532 male flyweights in the world. For reference, there are nearly 1,700 male welterweights. As a result, there aren't as many "step-up" opportunities to face. To complicate things further, covid restrictions limit the pool of potential opponents. Alaverdian would most likely need to fight someone based in the U.S. Miguel Cartegena and Marco Sustaita are a couple of beatable step-up options, but the pickings are pretty slim.

Whenever his next fight happens to be, Alaverdian will be ready because he trains year round. His walking around weight is between 117-120.  He usually does cardio work in the morning and boxing in the evening. David told Orr he loves to spar and travels around Las Vegas to find as much sparring as possible. In sparring, he has developed shoulder issues though. Alaverdian likes to switch stances and has experienced these shoulder issues in clinches to whichever his lead shoulder happens to be at a given time. "I stretch a lot and I do a lot of resistance band exercises," David said about how he has dealt with the shoulder problems, "and it  does help a lot."

In the short-term, David has planned a month-long vacation visiting friends and family back home in Israel. Then he'll come back to train in Nevada and hopefully make his U.S. debut when the calendar turns. David's long-term plans involve fighting in the 112, 115, and 118 pound divisions and acquiring a few world title belts along the way before his career is done.