Alik Frolov: "Hasanboy Dusmatov is the best amateur boxer after Vasily Lomachenko"

Russia's "World of Boxing" promotion company is gradually gaining a foothold in professional boxing in the world. Happily, this promotional company has a high level of confidence in Uzbek boxers. An example of this is the cooperation with a number of Uzbek fighters. Undoubtedly, the role of Alik Frolov, one of the managers of Uzbek professional fighters, is important. He is a master of his job and a wonderful as a man.

We contacted him and asked about the future plans of Uzbek boxers.

We bring this interview to your attention below.

-Hello! We were going to interview you for an Uzbek sports website Sports.uz, ?

- Greetings. Of course, there is no problem.

- After you started working with Uzbek boxers, we discovered and recognized you as a good manager. But that's all we know…

-I understand what you mean. You know, I have already felt and witnessed that there are a lot of boxing fans in Uzbekistan. They love boxing so much and strongly supports their athletes. They even communicates with us through social media and wishes us success in our endeavors. Of course, such a warm relationship makes us happy.

I am actually from Odessa, Ukraine. I currently live and work in the United States. I was first included to professional boxing by Vadim Kornilov. Now we are working with him to develop management and bring our young fighters to a higher level.

- In general, what is your impression of the mentality of Uzbek boxers, or what qualities surprised you?

-I can't say I'm surprised. The reason is that we have been brought up close to each other. Because we are all from the countries of the former Soviet Union. I can’t answer for everyone, but all of those who work with us are educated guys. They value their religion, family and friendship. We also explore the aspects of humanity before concluding a contract. We will communicate and, if agreed, sign a contract.

- Since when did you become more interested in Uzbek boxers?

- In short, we try to follow the strongest amateur boxers in the world. Interest in Uzbek boxers began after the Rio Olympics. At that time, Uzbek boxers were able to show the world how powerful they are. They were young and skilled boxers. So our interest increased and we started making our own offers. After 2017ʼs success, we got in touch with Shakhram Giyasov.

- Maybe we don't have that much information. In addition to Uzbek boxers, do you cooperate with promising young fighters from Russia and Ukraine?

- World of Boxing is a promotional company headed by Andrey Mikhailovich Ryabinsky. We also have reliable partners. These include Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy, Bob Arum's Top Rank, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom and Tom Brown's PBC promotion. Our clients operate as part of various promotional companies around the world. We approach each representative individually and try to choose a promotion that is good for them. Many promoters have a high level of interest in our fighters and based on this, the management team chooses the best option for them.

- We know that Bakhodir Jalolov will cooperate with Lou Dibella. However, he is now, if I'm not mistaken, camp. Maybe there are plans for it too?

- Bahkodir Jalolov started working with us after turning to professional boxing. In the beginning, he trained at other bases as he wished. There is no such camp of World of Boxing. The base which they are training now belongs to the Diaz brothers. There, Joel and Antonio Diaz serve as head coaches. Bakhodir is also training under the guidance of them. He also fightd for the national team of Uzbekistan under the leadership of Marat Kurbanov and for the team of Dmitry Bivol with coach Gennady Mashyanov.

- Considering that Hasanboy Dusmatov has something to do with you, can you tell us something new about him?

- Hasanboy Dusmatov is the best amateur boxer after Vasily Lomachenko… He has visa problems. Even there is being the pandemic situation around the world, we are trying to organize a fight for him. Most likely, this event will take place in late December.

- As you mentioned above, you first met Shakhram and he recommended you a number of Uzbek boxers. In particular, Ikboljon Kholdorov… How are you interested in him?

-Yes, Shakhram was the first, at that time he was the brightest and most famous name in the world of amateur boxing. So all the attention was focused on him.

Ikbol is a high level boxer and we appreciate him very much. Not only Shakhram, but also Tulkin Kilichev's positive assessment and opinions about him were taken into account. Once the pandemic situation in the world improves further, we will return to the previous regime and continue to sign contracts with new boxers.

- It is well known that Israil Madrimov and Bektemir Melikuziev will fight for the world title in the near future. When can we see such big battles with Shakhram?

- Not everything is as easy as it seems here. If you pay attention, our gighters are ones who are able to show themselves in an amateur direction and rise to the level of a star. That’s why we work with them seriously and try to make them rise faster in the rankings. We try to organize a fight with the strongest quickly and therefore our boxers have a chance to fight for the title faster than other talents in the division. However, the situation in the weight category plays a very important role in this regard. We can say that the situation in Shakhram's weight category is a bit enigmatic. Now it is possible that the two champions in that weight class to fight the 2021 for all belts. According to our plan, Shahram will need another fight to be a contender.

- Do you follow other professional boxers from Uzbekistan? We have boxers like Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, Azizbek Abdugafurov, Shohjahon Ergashev, who also occupy high places in the rankings. However, their promoters are lagging behind in organizing serious battles for them. Would you have cooperated with them if they had terminated their contract with the current promoter?

- Of course, we will follow the strongest boxers in the rankings. We also do this to get an idea of the rating. But we are not interested in what happens to their promoters. We just enjoy watching strong boxers. Once again, the situations in boxing are much harder than they seem.

- There are rumors that Murodjon Akhmadaliev will fight in Uzbekistan?

- So far, it is not clear. Anyway, the first option is the United States. However, we aimed to hold Murodjon's defensive fight in Uzbekistan. This would be a great event for Uzbekistan. For the first time in history, a defensive fight for the world championship belt will be held and a number of world-class boxers will visit Uzbekistan. It would be a great event for Uzbek fans, as well as broadcasts around the world. I think that in the near future, most boxers in your country will become famous, and then Uzbekistan will become a country of professional boxing. Naturally, then there will be an opportunity to hold big boxing nights more often. If we are lucky, we intend to go to Uzbekistan. It would be great if Murodjon Akhmadaliev had the opportunity to fight in your country.

- Thank you for your time and we hope to have a more detailed conversation with you when you arrive in Uzbekistan!

- Thank you for your attention. I will definitely be happy with that!