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GETTING IGGY WITH IT

Its arguably the biggest story to hit Oceania Kickboxing since Mark Hunt won the Wold Grand Prix. K-1 Superstar Alexey Ignashov, along with his trainer and manager has confirmed that he is moving to New Zealand and will be making Kiwiland his new base of operations in his campaign to take over the K-1 Kickboxing world.

Igor and Kiwi super promoter Dixon McIver have been working to get Alexey over here for the past year and see in the move not only a benefit for Ignashov, but also an opportunity to develop the raw talent in Oceania into the K-1 superstars of tomorrow. As Dixon observes: From what i see obviously with Ray and Chopper in the next couple of years as they start finishing their careers - to have a replacement of a high class level, he will raise the whole level of fighters here, immensely. Honestly ive watched Ray spar and ive watched a lot of the [K-1] guys but i was so impressed and unbelievably taken back by this guy. His composure, his speed, his execution was just unbelievable. His control was just incredible. Having Andrei his trainer here is just so good for this country. Igor and I have been planning this for over a year and we have four fighters that we are looking at putting under their wing to develop as K-1 superstars. What were doing is looking at the next generation.

Have you had a chance to look around?

My first impressions were from the plane, i saw land, water, yachts, its very pleasant here.

You trained at the Sefo Fight Academy yesterday; did you have a chance to spar with some local fighters?

Well i was impressed more by nice charming ladies, very nice venue!

How did you first come to start training in Muay Thai?

In Minsk Belarus there are a lot of martial arts and disciplines already existed at that time. But at that time it suprised me i didnt fight, do kixkboxing or anything. And then the rest of the story was like in a movie, i saw on TV a guy name Vanovich who became a world champion and suddenly i found this style of martial arts very attractive. I loved from first glance this type of style. FOr around a year and a half i was working on my physical preperation then i came to the coach who was Andrei. So this was the part when everything started and to make it short - here I am in NZ.

How old were you when you started training?

16

Its unusual for a Super Heavyweight to have such a strong Thai style, what is it about the Thai style that appeals to you?

I might say everything I love about thai boxing - the variety of techniques, including knees and elbows, i would call it freestyle fighting.

In K-1 you cant use elbows, and knees are limited has that been a difficult adjustment?

At the end of the day its not so bad, if it did have an influence it wasnt such a wide one. There was taken away one weapon, a second weapon - but i have a lot of weapons left.

There have been a lot of rumours around NZ trhat this visit might turn into something more permanent. Is there and truth to these?

Yes, first of all i do see myself training in the coming times for my career in New Zealand, and then, as we say, "Life will show".

What is it about the move to NZ that you feel will help you in your career?

Well, everything including some details.

Are you confident that you will maintain the same quality of training over here that you get in Europe in terms of sparring partners etc?

Well i would say that if today we dont find somebody, tomorrow we will - we'll teach them

So are you planning on basing yourself at Dixon McIver's gym in West Auckland?

You do see properly! [laughs]

How did all of this come about? New Zealand is about as far away from Belarus or Japan as you can get!

Wellm the idea of hiding maybe - from many things! [Laughs] New Zealand has always been curious for me because its so far away and of course from a nature point of view.

Youre one of the few K-1 fighters that have never been knocked out, what do you think is the secret of your durability?

There is no secret, the only thing is im afraid a lot and try to hide my head!

In New Zealand our 2 most famous kickboxers are Ray Sefo and Mark Hunt, how do you rate those two?

No doubt before and still today they have the level of bein gin the best K-1 fighters.

Are there any particular aspects of their style that impressed you?

They have the fighter's s[irit and i would say that both of them are extremely powerful physically with good hands. All other smaller details, that they can take advantage, they can suffer, they take it and a lot of other smaller details put them all together which makes them what they are.

How common is that for the L-1 scene, its very common in NZ for fighters to cross train at other gyms?

It has an interesting aspect of learning. Ive seen different teachings from different gyms and i think it has a lot of very positive aspects. Its a common type of practise too [in K-1] but not so intensive.

You are one of the most active fighters in the K-1 circuit. Most of the other top 8 only fight 2-4 times a year - why have you remained so active?

Because i am more hungry than the others! [Laughs]

One of the things that has been said many times about you is that you are perhaps the fighter in the L-1 who is most likely to be a dominant force in the future - but your results so far in the Grand Prix have not quite met up to that expectation. What do you think has been holding you back from achieving your potential?

Well i think we are waiting. As we have a saying in our place, "It can happen" - it means that my time didnt come yet.

What drives you to fight - what makes you want to keep going in kick boxing?

Id say its my lifestyle; its what i like which for this moment being im living for. I really consider it more like an art and through this i can gain knowledge of the other things in the world.

Who among the current K-1 fighters do you consider to be your biggest competition in trying to achieve your K-1 crown this year?

I know him - hs name is Ignashov! [laughs] This is the man who can be an obstacle!


Is there anyone who you would like to fight who you havent fought yet?

Ernesto


At the start of the year there was a lot of talk about Carter Williams being the next big thing in the K-1.You K.Od him but how did you find him as an opponent?

Well of course from yesterday to today I understand that he is not stuck in the middle of something - he is progressing. I would say he is very dangerous. He is a very good boxer.


How do you mentally prepare for a fight?

That would be mainly during training for a fight, the 2 last weeks are the most difficult from a physical point of view sometimes you have to overcome your own unwillingness to suffer so much. Then you know youre doing it for a good cause just knowing that you have to get to the highest level.


When youve finished your career and youre looking back what would you like to see? What goals have you set for yourself before you finish?

I would not say that i would like to be a legend, but i would like to be mentioned as an example of very high technique, and competitive.


What do you predict that we'll see from you in this coming year in terms of your performance?

I would like to show a kind of art which is trying to practise this is my main goal.


For you waht is more important, do you practise Muay Thai as an art, a career, or a sport? Do you measure your success on how much you have perfected your art or do you focus mostly on your performance in the ring or your achievements in the ring or in competition?

Thai boxing is such for me, primarily is an art which is opening my view on life - so this is something i consider to be most important aspect. All the effort of going through training for competitions and all the rest is linked to this.


If you get to the end of your fight career if you never did win the Grand Prix but you reached a level of technical excellence that you had perfected your techniques as much as you could during your fight career would you be happy with your fight career?

I would formulate it differently that if i am to achieve even approximately my desires as for the technical level and for the perfection aspect, i think that the fact of winning the Grand Prix I think that would be an automatic thing to come out.