Boxing continues to move forward in war-torn Ukraine, despite Russia's invasion accelerating last week.
Just nine days before Vlad Eliseyev's next promotion, 29 Russian missiles were fired at Kiev. All missiles were successfully intercepted, but 13 residents were injured by fragments. The next day, Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine, with 88 missiles and 63 drones falling on the cities of Kharkov, Dnipro, Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Zaporizhia.
Eliseev's top boxing generation will return to Kiev on March 30th. This is his fifth promotion since the war began nearly two years ago. The task of putting on a boxing show during wartime would be unthinkable to most people.
“We are dealing with the people, so we also have instructions from the government,” Eliseyev said in an exclusive interview. boxingscene.com. “The next show will have over 2,000 spectators, so we need to give the audience details on how to get to a shelter if the siren goes off during boxing. Perhaps there is a subway station nearby that will serve as a shelter. Since the war began, many new temporary shelters have opened up in the city, and many buildings used for normal life have been converted into air raid shelters. Everyone continues to live their lives as normal. This is one of many examples. It is very difficult for a big city like Kiev to stand still and we had to adapt.
“The government has been good to us and accepted all the shows we proposed. They seem happy to see us moving forward despite the war. The president said sports openly stated that it is necessary to continue to develop. This is exactly what it will be and we know that it will be appreciated. Boxing in Kiev will be closed in 2022 due to the war It is currently re-evolving after all boxing was stopped on May 24th. We had to cancel boxing shows for about a year because Russia attacked, which surprised many. All has stopped. There were several other promoters holding shows in smaller cities, but Top Boxing Generation will return in April 2023.”
Elisev currently monitors more than 50 professional fighters, the majority of whom are from partially occupied Ukraine.
“One of my combatants, Oleksandr Solommennikov, was very lucky because he arrived in Poland just three days before the start of the war to spar with Kamil Ruszczyk,” explained Elisev. “Initially there was a lot of discussion about whether he should return to Ukraine, but in the end we decided it was best for him to stay. Currently he lives in Poland and is unable to train. Good environment. He is very talented, but it is not easy. Traveling outside of Ukraine from Kiev is crazy. If you want to fly anywhere, the nearest airport is in Poland But because of trains and checkpoints, it takes more than 24 hours to get there. Before the war, it was less than an hour to get to Poland, and you could easily fly anywhere.”
Boxing is one of the top sports in this country. Ukraine has produced some of today's best performing fighters. As Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko travel the globe taking on some of the biggest fighters on the planet, Elisev and TBG continue to lay the foundation for the next superstar to carry the flag of Ukrainian boxing.
“It's going to be a really great show for Ukraine,” Elisev added. “A great main event is planned, in which Nazri Rakhimov will fight Colombia's Jorge Moya for the WBC youth title. It is not easy to find an opponent for Nazri or a fighter from our country. During the war, people from Ukraine I have to thank my friend Iñigo Herbosa for bringing the fighters here, he also brought Irving Berry. .
“The fighters who are now coming to Ukraine from abroad are very brave and maybe a little crazy. But what I can say is that the defense of Kiev is very good and I feel safe. It means that we feel and have faith in the air defense and soldiers of Ukraine. I think we all need to believe in each other right now. It's a big pain for all of us, but we are doing our best in every way. We must continue to do our best to build our country.”
The situation in eastern Ukraine is much worse than in Kiev, Eliseyev's hometown. The front has spread across the entire county, and Ukrainians live in fear of being occupied at any time.
“I called my partner Mykola Kravchenko the other day and he is very worried because he lives in Sumy,” Eliseyev added. “We have a border with Russia, and more than 100 missiles were fired at it. Now, another 800 weapons have arrived at the border, and it's so dangerous that everyone is worried and talking about evacuation. I have a lot of friends in that part of the country and what's going on is horrible.”
When discussing promotions in the midst of the war, Eliseyev's efforts in boxing in his home country were noteworthy. He saw the effects firsthand when Russia first invaded, when TBG's offices in Kiev were attacked and destroyed.
“On June 24th [2023] Our office was bombed,” Eliseyev recalled. “Our office was on the 25th floor, but a Russian rocket hit the 20th floor. There was a curfew across the country, and by midnight we had to be at home and not walk around the city. Only the police and soldiers can do that. Fortunately, we never had a situation where someone was sleeping on the job, because our office was very nice. When you have a lot of work to do, everyone I slept there. Then I went back and it was very dark because 14 people died on other floors of the building. It was once insane for so many people to die at once in our country. It was a long time ago, but now it is reality. But we have already adapted to the war and another big show is planned for August.”
