Chilemba-Silyagin Postponed Two Weeks

Isaac Chilemba's oft-postponed fight with Pavel Silyagin has been pushed back once again. It is now scheduled for November 26, still in Moscow, Russia for now.

Chilemba is no stranger to delays. He was originally scheduled to fight Fedor Chudinov in March of 2020 when covid-19 shut down the world and postponed the fight. In February of this year, Chilemba and Chudinov finally fought to a split draw.

Chilemba-Silyagin is turning into the Russian version of Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos.

Lopez was supposed to fight Kambosos in June, but the fight was delayed when Lopez tested positive for covid-19. There was an August fight date that came and went. The fight was moved to a Monday, October 4, and then pushed back to October 16. The promotional company, Triller eventually defaulted and lost the right to stage the fight. Cletus Seldin took over the October 16 spot on the Triller card and shined.

George Kambosos's position as "mandatory challenger" for one of Lopez's alphabet organization belts is the only reason the fight wasn't scrapped along the way. There are four major alphabet organizations and Lopez owns four out of five of the belts. That's not a typo; one of them has two world champions, down from the four they had up until this summer.

Kambosos is a good fighter and deserves respect, but there is so much talent in and around the lightweight division, there really isn't any justification for him to be a mandatory challenger. The southpaw technician, Vasiliy Lomachenko, lost a close decision to Lopez last year in a fight that many thought was a draw. Then there's slick boxer Devin Haney, social media star Ryan Garcia, southpaw puncher Gervonta Davis, and Olympian Shakur Stevenson lurking. Such is boxing. Lopez-Kambosos is now scheduled for November 27.

Chilemba knows all about the bizarre business of boxing. He has been on the wrong side of many close decisions in the opponent's hometown and now he's dealing with the shenanigans with his upcoming fight date. This bout against Silyagin was originally scheduled for October 15. It was then moved to November 5. Then, it was pushed back to November 12.

Chilemba told The Times of Malawi, “Russia is under a complete lockdown due to an increase in covid cases, so the fight has been moved to November 26th.”

The Times reporter, Mphatso Malidadi, notes that the lockdown may only be confined to Russia's capital. Yesterday, a boxing card took place in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia in which Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov enjoyed strawberries as he watched the fights.

Regardless, Chilemba is keeping his fingers crossed that the fight will happen. “I hope the lockdown won’t be extended, and we will be allowed to enter Russia," Chilemba said. "It is very frustrating. This is the fourth time the date has been changed. I am actually losing hope if it is going to happen this year at all.”

The Jewish Boxing Blog's preview of Chilemba-Silyagin can be viewed here.

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.

Mor Oknin to Fight in December

Mor Oknin's second professional fight was originally scheduled for November 18 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. However, it has been postponed until December 11 and will take place in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Oknin's first fight was also in Mexico, in Sinaloa, north of Jalisco. He scored a first round stoppage victory when his opponent bowed out due to injury after Oknin had started to take control of the contest.

Oknin, who is from Israel, fights in the super flyweight division. Fellow Jewish boxer David Alaverdian, who has fought at flyweight and super flyweight, has also fought exclusively in Mexico. Mexico might seem like a strange choice for a couple of Jewish boxers from Israel. Though the first Jew to arrive in Mexico came 500 years ago (believed to be Hernando Alonso in 1521) there are only about 65,000-70,000 Jews currently living in Mexico. For reference, about twice the number of Jews live in Montgomery County, Maryland, U.S.A. than in all of Mexico.

Some American boxing writers and pundits look down on fights in Mexico, but that's unfair. In the United States, the commissions in California, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania do a better job than others in regulating who can fight. Too many commissions in the U.S. are far too lax. Similarly, there are areas in Mexico where it's easy to build up a record and other places where the opponents are better qualified.

The truth is Mexico the place to go to fight in the 112 or 115 pound divisions. According to BoxRec, Mexico is home to the most fly and super flyweights by far. There are about 130 super flyweights and 140 flyweights in the country. That's more than 25% of all the 112 and 115 pounders in the world.

Japan (about 150 total) and the Philippines (70ish) also have a lot fighters in those two weight classes, but Mexico has more than both of them combined. BoxRec says their are 33 American super flyweights and just 23 flyweights. Believe it or not, there are only 43 fighters between 109 and 115 pounds in all of Europe! Even Thailand has more, 44 in total, in the two classes. So Mexico is the place to be for super fly and flyweights.

Fortunately, both Oknin and Alaverdian have had positive experiences in Mexico. Alaverdian told Mike Orr that the atmosphere at a fight in Mexico is awesome. "When they hear I'm from Israel, they're a bit surprised, but very cheerful." The crowd is happy when he wins and David poses for many pictures and signs many autographs after his fights there. "It's fun. I can't lie; it's pretty cool," he said of the experience. Oknin's appreciation for Mexican culture has grown since fighting there last time. He now has a deeper affinity for the language, the country's hip hop, and its boxers.

Oknin's bout is scheduled for four rounds. No opponent has yet been named.