by Dmitriy Mikhalchuk

Famous Ukrainian light heavyweight Vitaliy Rusal (24-1-0, 17 КО) who box under banners of «K2 East Promotions» not long ago returned from Germany where he spent a fortnight sparring with leading boxers of German promotional company «Universum Box Promotion». After he came back Vitaliy spoke with our website journalist about his impression of the German fight club and its leading boxers – Alexander Alexeev, Ruslan Chagaev, and Zsolt Erdei and about his plans for the nearest future as well.

- Who did you spar with?
- I had sparring sessions with several boxers of three different weight categories: with cruiserweight Alexander Alexeev, then with light heavyweight fighter Igor Mikhalkin and finally with former heavyweight champ Ruslan Chagaev.

- Did you notice any changes in Alexeev after his astonishing defeat from Victor Emilio Ramirez?
- Well, I don’t know. At least I did not see any changes in him while sparring.

- Now Igor Mikhalkin is considered to be the hottest young prospect among Universum light heavyweights. What do you think of him?
- Mikhalkin is a typical representative of Russian boxing school. Fast, skilled southpaw, however, he is not so much of a puncher.

- How was your sparring with Ruslan Chagaev? Any news about his plans for future? Did you notice any impact on him from defeat by Wladimir Klitschko?
- Ruslan surprised me by his speed – I sparred with heavyweights many times before and all of them were much slower than Chagaev. Besides, he is a very smart boxer. He told me that, probably, he would step into the ring in December; however, he did not where and against whom. But he was in good shape and is eager to come back to the ring as soon as possible. I do not think that that defeat had much impact on him.

- Did you find any problems while sparring with heavier fighters – let’s say Alexeev, for example, or Chagaev? What I mean is that you boxed for many years as cruiserweight but recently you have made up you mind to go down to light heavyweight.
- I think that light heavyweight is my natural weight – now I feel most comfortable at the new weight class. And I never had any problems while sparring with heavier boxer. Quite the contrary – I can tell you for sure that now I am more mobile.

- How useful are such sparring sessions for you? Do they really help you to raise your class?
- Sure! It is a kind of very valuable experience. The stronger the opponent is the better becomes a boxer. That can be applied unmistakably also to sparring. Sparring with boxers of high class brings mutual benefit to both partners. We teach each other and study how to adjust to different styles in the ring.

- What was your impression of Zsolt Erdei who relinquished WBO light heavyweight belt and moved up to claim WBC cruiserweight title. How do you evaluate his chances in tomorrow fight against reigning champion Giacobbe Fragomeni?
- Zsolt Erdei did not spar with me but I saw him training many times. I am afraid he changed for the worse in recent times. Probably, he is sick and tired of boxing. I reckon he will lose the fight against Fragomeni tomorrow.

- You saw all best German cruiserweights: Marco Huck, Alexander Alexeev, Alexander Frenkel and Zsolt Erdei who recently joined them. Who is the strongest in your opinion?
- Well, it is difficult to compare them since they are all fighters with different styles. Huck is able to throw and land powerful punches, Alexeev and Erdei both possess good skills. I would pick Alexander Alexeev.

- What can you tell us about conditions of training at «Universum Box Promotion»?
- The conditions are superb! Boxers have all what they may need for full-fledged training for the most serious fights: gyms, boxing equipment, top notch trainers and perfect sparring partners.

- When will we see you in the ring again?
- My next fight is scheduled for December 19th in my home town Zaporizhzhya. At the moment I do not know who I will face but I know that the bout will be a ten-rounder in light heavyweight category.