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New Faces: Dmitry Kudryashov

Fighters Network
08
Apr
Photo by Vasily Kostenko

Photo by Vasily Kostenko

DMITRY KUDRYASHOV

Vital Statistics
Age: 29
Hometown: Volgodonsk, Russia
Weight class: Cruiserweight
Height: 6-foot-2¾ (189 cm)
Amateur record: 136-13
Turned pro: 2011
Pro record: 16-0, 16 knockouts
Trainer: Timofeev Nikolay
Manager: Vasily Kostenko
Promoter: World of Boxing, Andrey Ryabinskiy

Best night of pro career: Unsurprisingly, Kudryashov considers his most recent win to be his best.

“Perhaps the best fight can be considered my last fight, with Juan Carlos Gomez,” Kudryashov told RingTV.com through his manager, Vasily Kostenko. “I think that fight was the most important and my best because it was my first match with a new promoter (World of Boxing). I realized that the way I will show and prove myself will determine my career.”



The heavy-handed Russian blitzed the former WBC cruiserweight champion in just 19 seconds of the opening round.

Worst night of pro career: All 16 of “The Russian Hammer’s” wins have come inside the distance. That said, he closely scrutinizes all his fights.

I can say that as a professional I always find something that I need to work on more,” he said.

Next fight: Kudryashov makes his 2015 bow against former two-time world-title challenger Francisco Palacios on Friday evening in Moscow on the undercard of the WBA cruiserweight title fight between Denis Lebedev and Youri Kalenga.

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican twice fought Krzysztof Wlodarczyk for the WBC belt, dropping a split decision many believed he deserved in 2011 before losing a unanimous decision 18 months later.

“I think that he is a good and strong boxer,” Kudryashov said of Palacios. “He does not allow himself to be hit, he has strategy and intelligence in his movements. He is a smart and tactical boxer. He avoids sharp and dangerous, disadvantageous moments for himself.

“In principle I am expecting a good fight from him – for example, like his fight with Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.

“As far as my preparation for this fight, even in the middle of the January I went to the training camp. I think that I will be ready for everything 100 percent. I do not know how this fight will finish, but I am always aiming for the knockout and if I get this chance I definitely use it. The knockout is the point of any boxing match. All aspire to this, spectators come for this.”

Why he’s a prospect: The obvious answer is his devastating, fight-ending power. The way he drilled Gomez was highly impressive. Of course, Gomez was several years past his prime but the manner in which Kudryashov knocked him out was a statement of intent.

Could Kudryashov be a cruiserweight version of Sergey Kovalev or Gennady Golovkin?

At the least, he looks like a useful addition to the talent-laden cruiserweight division that already boasts offensive beasts Grigory Drozd, Lebedev and Marco Huck.

Kudryashov says he didn’t have a long, distinguished amateur career, though still had close to 150 bouts. He also took part in some MMA contests.

He was never able to perform on the big amateur stages such as the Olympics or world championships.

“The reason for this is quite commonplace. In general it is very difficult to get into the National team, especially if you are a boxer from a country town,” he said. “Sometimes we didn’t even have enough money to go to the regional championships, not to mention the national championships. And the judges were not always favorable. One time they gave the victory in an equal fight to boy from the capital.”

Kudryashov has gained valuable experience working with some top fighters: “I sparred with Grigory Drozd – the WBC champion – and also with Kubrat Pulev, who recently met Wladimir Klitschko,” he said. “It is a great experience for me, I think I am quite ready to take part in fights against the current champions at their level.”

Kudryashov isn’t aiming for anyone in particular, he just wants his chance to become champion: “I would like to meet any man in the ring who has a belt, and his name is secondary.”

Why he’s a suspect: As well as saying he has to work on all areas of his game to improve, he feels it would be ignorant to rest on his laurels.

“I’m always trying to work on all the needed aspects,” he said. “But at the moment most of all I want to learn this boxing science of the USA professional ring. Actually, I think that a person who thinks that he has nothing to learn, that he knows and achieved everything, is a silly person.”

Story lines:
Kudryashov first became interested in boxing when he was 13. He says he found the sport entertaining.

While the Russian doesn’t have a favorite boxer, he does enjoy watching Kovalev and Golovkin for their styles.

“They are not only good fighters and champions,” he said. “Also they are punchers and they always show good boxing – that pleases the audience.”

Outside of boxing Kudryashov is well schooled. He has one master’s degree already and is studying for another in economics.

He is married with a 5-year-old daughter.

Fight-by-fight record (16-0, 16 KOs)

2011

July 30 – Oleksandr Okhrei – KO 3

Sept. 25 – Vyacheslav Shcherbakov – TKO 1

Nov. 19 – Kostiantyn Okhrei – TKO 4

2012

Mar. 16 – Obadiah Mwangi – TKO 1

May 1 – Oleksiy Varagushyn – TKO 1

Oct. 13 – Isroil Qurbonov – TKO 5

2013

Feb. 16 – Semen Pakhomov – KO 1

Mar. 30 – Levan Jomardashvili – TKO 3

May 25 – Prince George Akrong – TKO 5

Sept. 28 – Ruslan Semenov – TKO 5

Oct. 26 – Shawn Cox – KO 2

Nov. 30 – Zack Mwekassa – KO 1

2014

Mar. 27 – Lubos Suda – TKO 2

May 23 – Ivica Bacurin – KO 7

Oct. 18 – Giulian Ilie – TKO 2

Nov. 28 – Juan Carlos Gomez – KO 1

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him at www.twitter.com/AnsonWainwright

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