Grigorij Drozd before the title fight: a real war awaits me

- You were born 35 years ago in Prokopyevsk, much closer to Novosibirsk than Moscow. You once said that people there could become miners, drug addicts or criminals, and that sport was the only route to a better world.
Grigorij Drozd: I come from an ordinary working-class family. Everyone worked in the mine. My mother and grandmother even did electric-gas welding. Both received medals for long service. No one imagined that one of us would ever talk about becoming world champion and reaching the very top.

- I thought only men became welders.
GD: It certainly is not a profession for women. The welding equipment alone weighs around 90 kilograms. I do not know why my mother took it up. Perhaps it was my grandmother’s decision. She worked in the mine for 35 years and knew the job inside out.

- Why did you choose sport?
GD: I was nine or ten when there was a methane explosion in the mine. Several people died, and my uncle suffered serious burns. I remember visiting him in hospital. We did not know whether Andrei would survive. I think that was when I understood I had to find something else to do, because mining did not interest me. Explosions happened there regularly. Tragedies like that still occur today.

- Did your uncle recover?
GD: Yes, he pulled through. Today he runs his own business and feels great. He later had two more children. It turned out he was incredibly tough. He used to ski, as did my mother. There was never a shortage of snow in Siberia, and most people were good at skiing or skating. As a child, I played hockey.

- You mention your mother, grandmother and uncle. What about your father?
GD: He left my mother when I was two. My stepfather raised me until I was eleven, and then he died. I became the only man in the family. Two years later, my brother was born. There were three of us. I felt responsible. I wanted to earn money and do everything I could to ensure my family lived normally.

- Did you have to work then?
GD: I realized that sport could be a way to help my family. I felt healthy and strong. I did well in karate and kickboxing. At 15, I began fighting professionally in Muay Thai and earning my first money. Within a few years, I became Russian, European and world champion in the discipline. I did not neglect my education either. Today I have a university degree and have completed two fields of study.

- Did your family accept your choice?
GD: My grandmother used to say: “Grisha, you have learned to defend yourself, so no one on the street will mess with you anymore. That is enough. Take a course and become a bulldozer operator. You will earn enough for bread and feed the family.” I would reply that if sport did not work out, I would give it a try. But I knew perfectly well that I had no intention of doing that. Eventually I convinced my grandmother. She loves me and takes my fights very much to heart. It will be the same on September 27. She believes I made the right decision.

- Thanks to you, was your mother able to retire early?
GD: Yes, she took that opportunity. I bought her a house and do everything I can to help her live comfortably.

- You said last year’s victory over Mateusz Masternak and winning the European title gave you a second life. Did you feel underestimated before that?
GD: Yes. I felt that 98 or 99 percent of people had already written me off. Many thought it would be my last fight and that Masternak would knock me out without much trouble. Only a few people close to me believed in me. The victory made me believe in my abilities even more strongly.

- Masternak said that if the fight lasted 12 rounds, Grigorij Drozd would win. But if anyone were to knock out his opponent, it would be Krzysztof Włodarczyk. Is that a sensible prediction?
GD: I thank Mateusz for believing in my chances, but I agree only with the first part of his opinion. I will win. How? It does not matter much. The most important thing is that I will challenge a legitimate champion for the title. There are many possible scenarios. I am preparing for a long, 12-round bout fought at a high pace and under heavy pressure. I expect plenty of hard punches from both sides.

- You call Włodarczyk the most dangerous boxer in the cruiserweight division. What does the WBC world champion have that champions from the other organizations do not: Marco Huck of the WBO, Yoan Pablo Hernandez of the IBF and Denis Lebedev of the WBA?
GD: He has an exceptional ability to concentrate. Sometimes he looks as if he is detached from the fight, almost absent, but all the while he remains focused on victory. He is awkward and bends a lot. His arms are not particularly long, and he approaches his opponent from an unusual distance—not close, but not far away either. Yet he can punch very hard. He is also the most experienced. He never allows himself a moment of relaxation. He is dangerous every second of the fight.

- Yet you said that a smart boxer can beat Włodarczyk. What does “smart” mean in this case?
GD: It is a boxer who quickly assesses the situation in the ring, can adapt to it and change his tactics depending on how the fight develops.

- A year ago, you commentated for Russian television on Włodarczyk’s fight against Rakhim Chakhkiev in Moscow. You must have noticed mistakes that should not be repeated.
GD: Of course. It was a very interesting experience. I felt the energy of that fight. I did not expect that I would soon be exchanging punches with Włodarczyk myself, but subconsciously I imagined how I would have behaved in specific situations in Chakhkiev’s place.

- The conclusion seems simple: getting into a brawl is a bad idea.
GD: Without a doubt. It was not only that fight that showed standing in front of Włodarczyk and trading heavy punches is not a good solution.

- Did you talk about it with Chakhkiev?
GD: We exchanged observations.

- Did he tell you anything that could not previously be noticed?
GD: No. In reality, everything is fairly simple. My observations and Rakhim’s impressions were very similar. A powerful left hook, a straight right and tremendous pressure. You can see all of that, and you have to prepare for it. Rakhim did not reveal any magic formula to me. Perhaps he simply helped me understand better that a real war awaits me. Włodarczyk is one of those boxers who never give up.

- It appears that both of you will enter the fight at the best moment of your careers.
GD: That is right. For me, this is the most important event of my entire sporting journey. All the tests indicate that I will be in peak form. I treat every training session as if it were the last of my life.

- If you do not beat Włodarczyk, will you never become world champion?
GD: I do not look at it that way. I am preparing with joy in my heart, a great desire to win and an appetite for an excellent fight. I am certain I will win. I have no doubt that Włodarczyk wants the same. I dream of lifting the world championship belt after a great fight.

- Will this be the best cruiserweight fight of 2014?
GD: Even the bookmakers have not identified a clear favorite. That shows how interesting this clash will be. Two boxers at the peak of their form will meet: a world champion and a challenger who fully deserves his opportunity.

Interviewed by: Przemysław Osiak, przegladsportowy.pl