His confidence riding high after the first defense of his second reign as the WBA World heavyweight champion ended with a first-round KO of Francesco Pianeta last Saturday, it’s been fun for Ruslan Chagaev.
But, the champion wants more. Speaking with World Boxing News, the Uzbekistani fighter wants to avenge a defeat from his initial stint on the throne.
In 2009, Chagaev couldn’t find the target against Wladimir Klitschko, but he was the target to many stiff right hands. In the eighth round, he suffered a nasty cut above his left eye.
Chagaev resorted to boxing from the outside, but the long reach of Klitschko was breaking through the guard, snapping his head back. Before the 10th round, referee Eddie Cotton halted the bout.
“Throughout the fight, I searched for the keys to unlock a win, but I just couldn’t find them,” Chagaev said following the loss.
Now, he tells World Boxing News that it was a result of a lack of preparation, and aspires to fight the Ukrainian once again on the back of an impressive performance against Pianeta.
“I am the WBA World Heavyweight champion – so at some point Wladimir, being the Super Champion, will have to fight me unless he loses or retires,” Chagaev said.
“I am always ready to fight him. I didn’t really have time to prepare and get ready for our first fight. I took the chance on very short notice and was not in the best condition I could have been in. So, I hope I can prove that I can do better against him if I am well prepared. However, I am not one of these guys who only run around and call out Wladimir Klitschko because they are expecting a big payday.
“Whenever the fight comes, I will be happy to fight him. But for the moment, I have to take care of my business and defend my title against the challengers waiting for me.”
One of those challengers is Puerto Rican Fres Oquendo, who he defeated by majority decision last July. Just 36 hours before the fight, Oquendo’s wife and newborn were in the hospital when boarded a fight Grozny, Russia to take on Chagaev at the Ahmat Arena.
According to the fight contract, Oquendo was guaranteed $1 million and a rematch 120 days after in the event he came up short.
Oquendo has claimed that he wasn’t paid the $1 million, and he obviously didn’t get a rematch within 120 days.
But, a compromise was reached when Chagaev agreed to face Oquendo again within 120 days of his victory over Pianeta.
We should expect Chaegav-Oquendo II to take place as early as November 7th this year as long as things work out.
