Above: Khataev’s most recent fight ended with a second-round stoppage of Michal Ludwiczak. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

IMAM KHATAEV
Age: 29
Born: Kulary, Chechnya
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Height:  5-foot-10½ (179 cm)
Amateur record: 275-25 (roughly)
Turned pro: 2021
Pro record: 6-0 (6 knockouts)
Trainer: Anton Kudushin
Manager: Anton Kudushin
Promoter: Eye of The Tiger
Instagram: @Imam_Khataev_

Best night of pro career and why: Khataev impressed a lot of people with his second-round stoppage over late substitute Michal Ludwiczak on January 13. The fight took place on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev-Callum Smith at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada. 

“I feel good with every fight,” Khataev told The Ring. “I fought the last two fights the way I wanted because my coach, Anton (Kudushin), and I have worked on mistakes and are gaining experience in the professional ring.

“[In the Ludwiczak fight] I won the NABF championship, the first belt in my professional career. I am very happy about the victory and to be part of such a big event in the world of boxing.”

Worst night of pro career and why: The 29-year-old feels he could have been a little better against tough Mexican David Benitez, whom he stopped in three rounds last October.

“I didn’t like my first fight in Canada,” he said. “Because I have little professional experience, and in that fight I was trying to quickly knock out my opponent. So I just didn’t like the way I boxed in the fight.”

Kudushin, who also works with former lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr., saw the same thing.

“I told him, ‘Imam, just box. You don’t need to impress anyone here with your power and hit him every blow as hard as possible. If you box, you’ll impress the crowd and finish this guy off quickly.'”

What’s Next: Khataev will be back in action against the rugged Ricards Bolotniks in a scheduled 10-round contest on the undercard of Kambosos’ fight with Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 12 in Australia.

“We’re excited to keep Imam active and on such a great show,” said Camille Estephan of Eye of The Tiger. “We’re really happy with how he is developing and are moving him accordingly. He impressed a wider audience on ESPN in his last fight, and I think he will continue to do the same going forward. I expect him to make another statement against Bolotniks and believe he is the future of the light heavyweight division.”

Bolotniks (20-7-1, 8 KOs) has been a professional since 2013. The 33-year-old Latvian has often fought above his natural weight, most notably in a loss to future cruiserweight title challenger Thabiso Mchunu (TKO 6) in 2018. After settling at 175 pounds, he surprisingly won The Golden Contract with three impressive wins, stopping Serge Michel (TKO 10) in the final. Since then, he has lost against Ring top 10-rated Joshua Buatsi (TKO 11) and former WBC titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk (TKO 6).

Why he’s a prospect: Khataev was a huge amateur, winning three Russian national titles – impressive, given the deep talent pool in his homeland.

Internationally, he claimed bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he drew acclaim for an eye-opening third-round knockout over Gazimagomed Jalidov in the quarterfinals. He also took bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and fought in the pro-am World Series of Boxing.

During his extensive amateur career, he faced a who’s who of the light heavyweight division and holds wins over highly decorated Cubans Julio Cesar la Cruz and Arlen Lopez, who are both double Olympic gold medalists.

He has also gained experience from quality sparring partners.

“In Australia, I had a good sparring session with Paulo Aokuso and a few other guys,” he revealed. “In Canada, I sparred with Erik Bazinyan a couple of times.”

It is no secret as to what Khataev’s biggest weapons are: “I think the best thing about me is that I am physically very strong and hit hard. I work out the rest with the coach every day.”

When I asked about the obvious comparison between him and IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight titlist Artur Beterbiev and if he was “Beterbiev 2.0,” he smiled and simply said, “Khataev 1.0.”

Marc Ramsay, who notably serves as head coach for the aforementioned Beterbiev, likes what he has seen from the rising power-puncher.

“I’ve been following Imam since the amateur ranks, and just looking at his results like his bronze medal at the Olympics, you can see that he is special,” said the renowned trainer. “He is a serious boxer with excellent technique and very good physical strength. He has many tools to succeed and become world champion.”

Why he’s a suspect: So far, Khataev hasn’t been extended past three rounds. How is his stamina over the course of a fight? Can he pace himself in a similar manner to Beterbiev?

A slick, skilled mover like Ben Whitaker, who bested Khataev in the Olympic semifinals, could pose a threat further down the line.

Khataev feels the key thing to improve on is his mentality.

“We need to improve our psychology,” he admitted. “Control emotions in battle, learn to control the force of blows so that the effect of them hits the target, and not waste your energy in vain, and hit [the right] areas.”

Ramsay believes Khataev is on the right path, having fought three times in four months. “I think that now the most important thing for him is to stay active and fight longer to gain professional experience.”

Storylines: Khataev was born in the mountains of Kulary in Chechnya. Things were far from easy during his formative years.

“I was born in the most difficult times during the first war in Chechnya,” he explained. “It was impossible to study or work. Therefore, at their age, my parents were not able to study or work, but they worked part-time in different places and survived as best they could.”

His father wanted his sons to become athletes and initially introduced them to wrestling, which doubtlessly aided Khataev’s physical strength.

“He himself had been involved in sports all his life, but due to difficult times he was unable to achieve the highest achievements in sports,” he explained. “In his youth, my father was involved in weightlifting and became a Master of Sports. In Russia, there is such an official title. When you win a certain tournament, you receive this honorary title, meaning that you are a master of this sport. A document and badge of distinction are awarded.

Khataev celebrates his second-round stoppage of Gi Sung Gwak on March 12, 2023, in Sydney. (Photo by Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

“In our village of Kulary, there was only one sport, Greco-Roman Wrestling. At the age of 9, I met children and found out that they went to wrestling, and I also wanted to do wrestling. My brother and I wrestled for four years and won the republican championships four times and various tournaments.”

However, his father encouraged Imam and his younger brother Shamil, also a professional boxer with a record of 12-0 (3 KOs) who recently signed with Eye of The Tiger, to follow their dream in boxing.

“As soon as I started boxing, I saw the Olympic Games on TV and I always watched boxing, from that moment I had the desire to win gold at the Olympic Games,” he said. “I managed to become a bronze medalist at the Olympics, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to become a champion. Now my goal is to become the absolute world champion in professional boxing.”

Khataev is married, has a young son and lives in Sydney, Australia.

“I moved to live in Australia because Australia is the best country I have ever visited,” he said. “And I really like it here. It’s always sunny here and the people are very nice. In general I feel very comfortable here.

“I [spend time raising] my son. I am a hard-working person. I get very little rest between fights; after a week, I start training again. But that doesn’t stop me from spending time with my family.”

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

Follow @AnsonWainwright