Bakhodir Jalolov: Chasing a lot of gold

Hoodwinked into combat. It’s not an assertion you hear every day, especially not from an elite boxer like Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan.

Yet that’s exactly how the Olympic gold medal and heavyweight title contender describes his introduction to the noble art, his father tricking him into killing time in the gym. while he waits for the call from his school football team.

“My father was a very rough man,” Jalolov told Boxing Social. “He himself is a wrestler, a freestyle wrestler. When I was a kid, I always played football. My dad told me when I was 11 years old that he was going to put me in a boarding school. So I stayed there. And he told me that there is no place for football classes there but there is room for boxing classes.

“So I should do a little boxing just to stay in school and then he will transfer me to the football team. But he lied because there was no space left. He just wanted me to do boxing. You know, get into the ‘men’s sport’. He didn’t really like football so he wanted me to be a boxer. I started boxing, didn’t like it for the first few months, but slowly I started to get better and better. ”

On Friday night, Jalolov will showcase how far he has come since the earliest days of pugilism when he takes on the role of Belgian Jack Mulowayi. 6′7 ″ Uzbek’s journey into professional boxing has been a perfect one so far; 10 matches, 10 wins, 10 knockouts.

But it also comes at a time when amateur boxing is introducing a particularly important change, which is the introduction of professionals into the Olympic Games in 2016. That means Jalolov, who is already out. professional eye against Hugo Trujillo in 2018, also competing with the likes of Frazer Clarke and Richard Torrez at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

It made his development extraordinary, the added acumen from facing quality amateurs helping him beat lesser opponents in the paid ranks.

“I am a practical guy and I understand that when I just turned pro, the games were easier, the opponents were not at the top level, top quality. At the same time, I’m facing very top amateurs so the pro matches aren’t as difficult.

“But it is never easy because you are preparing for a fight. You are training, you are participating, you are learning in training camp. It’s always hard, you’re always working, I’m always preparing for the hardest fight of my life. Looking at it realistically, I understood that the battles were getting harder and harder. This guy (Jack Mulowayi) is a very good fighter and I respect him.

“I don’t underestimate any of my opponents, I know that I’m a heavyweight and in this weight class one punch can change anything.”

Winning an Olympic gold medal last year was undoubtedly the highlight of Jalolov’s career to date, culminating in his continued performance at the elite level, which saw him win gold at the 2019 World Championships, and 3 gold medals at the much-respected Asian Championships in 2017, 2019 and 2021.