Latvian light heavyweight Ricards Bolotniks says he is prepared to take on optimized Russian Imam Khataev in a matchup in which he accepts his experience will win.
Bolotniks (20-7-1, 8 KOs) will go head to head against Khataev (6-0, 6 KOs), a bronze medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, on the undercard of the Vasiliy Lomachenko-George Kambosos Jr. headliner in Perth, Australia on Sunday (Saturday in the U.S.). Bolotniks enters the matchup as an undeniable watchman planned to launch Khataev into contendership.
“This is my game, not his,” Bolotniks told BoxingScene. “This is proficient boxing, it’s altogether different to beginner boxing. I’ve been watching him in the beginners and, genuinely, I like his boxing. He’s intense, he’s solid, with a major punch. I saw him take out a couple of folks in beginner boxing.
“They’ve been attempting to inspire me to battle this person for some time. They’ve sent me offers to battle him in a great deal of spots. He has a decent group, a decent mentor, big-time directors, all that kind of thing. He awakens and just does preparing. I awaken, I go to work, then I train, then I get back home and sit with my child, then, at that point, I train once more. I have two positions at this moment. It is a battle where a hotshot proficient is going toward a person who simply has the will to win. You need to beat Bolotniks, you better work really hard. Beating me is rarely simple.”
Bolotniks is falling off a standard six-round prevail upon mostly secret Tomas Bezvoda in his local Riga following a disheartening 6th round stoppage against Oleksandr Gvozdyk last May.
“After Gvozdyk, something in my mind changed,” Bolotniks said. “I gave everything in the Gvozdyk instructional course – everything. It was such areas of strength for a, I felt extraordinary going into that battle. However at that point I got found out. I said before the battle that assuming I lose and look awful, I’ll stop. In any case, he just got me. It wasn’t my issue – it was difficult to have any power going into the battle on the grounds that my camp continued to get moved, from 10 weeks to 12 weeks, then 12 to 15 weeks. I prepared all in all too hard before the battle, I didn’t have a lot of force left in me for the battle in Mexico, however my wellness was great since I prepared so hard. It was s*** on the grounds that I began that battle all around well, and afterward I got halted.
Ricards Bolotniks to Former Olympian Imam Khataev: ‘This Is My Game’
Boxing streams
Boxing Live
— Boxing Streams (@boxingstreamxyz) May 11, 2024
“I had this battle in Latvia later, which was s***, just to return from the misfortune. I would have rather not boxed anyplace from that point onward, however at that point I began to think, ‘I’m looking great, I actually train consistently. Why not?’ I’m going to Australia interestingly and I’m getting great cash and I have no strain on me. No one is letting me know that I need to beat this person, since he’s great and he’s the Olympian. By the day’s end, this is my work. I simply need to proceed to take care of my business, get cash and carry it to my significant other.”
Khataev will take on his hardest assignment since marking expert terms with Montreal-based Mental tenacity Administration in 2021. With his 100% knockout proportion, against obscure resistance, he has been compared to Artur Beterbiev.
“This is proficient boxing,” Bolotniks said. “I believe he’s just been four or five adjusts up until this point. Better believe it, he’s a decent beginner fighter, and on the off chance that we battled a novice session, definitely, he’s great at that. In any case, this is my game – I’ve been boxing a ton at 10 and 12 rounds. I realize he doesn’t have the foggiest idea how that feels, I understand what it seems like after six rounds; he doesn’t have any idea yet. The ref will call cycle eight, he will think, ‘F***, how have I actually got three additional rounds left?’ In this way, thus, I need the full 10 rounds. We will perceive the way he feels after six.
“I’m presumably going to beat him by focuses, I have substantially more experience. I need to box this person for the entire 10 rounds since I have the involvement with those later adjusts that he doesn’t. I’m interested to perceive how he handles it.”
