WBC silver cruiserweight champion Thabiso “The Rock” Mchunu (22-5-0, 13 KOs) will travel to Russia to face unbeaten Evgeny Tishchenko (8-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday at the RCC Boxing Academy in Ekaterinburg. The fight will also be an eliminator for the right to challenge WBC champion Ilunga Makabu. Tishchenko was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist at heavyweight and at 6’5 will have six inches on Mchunu.
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Offending posts will be removed.
Repeat offenders will be put on moderation.
This is a great example of how the boxing business works. Guys with good management/upcoming stars are moved up so much more advantageously in boxing. Mchunu and Makabu (current champion) had a really close fight the first time, and the rematch has been in line with Mchunu, the WBC silver Champ, and Makabu the champ. So, when seeing this, without even knowing about Tishchenko’s background, it was so obvious that he was a prized amateur who has solid management and a clear route to the title in beating Makabu (arguably the easiest win of any of the champions). Without looking, I’ll even bet that Tishchenko was only recently made a top 15 contender to get this chance, and that he does not sit at the top of the WBC rankings. I’ll even go one further and bet he’s ranked higher in other sanctioning bodies. A guy who is not near the very top of the rankings (unless there has been a very recent political move, but usually you only NEED to be in the top 15) get’s an eliminator fight while the guy in line for the title loses out on a shot. It’s one of those things that no one will care about either because Tishchenko is probably very well skilled. The point is, certain people get to skip steps and build their confidence much more advantageously. This is just a great example of the business and politics of boxing at work.
Colby Cali: Well put, interesting reading your comments. Being South African I am hoping the real Thabiso turns up in this fight, but he has not looked good recently like he looked some years ago.
Never heard of Evgeny Tishchenko until reading this article, but after watching a few YouTube videos of him, he looks like a safe bet to beat Mchunu. Mchunu is a good boxer/counterpuncher, but he’s giving up 6 inches here, and Tishchenko seems to use his reach very well. Tishchenko has been in with pretty good competition in most of his fights, and looks like a guy who will certainly be a factor at Cruiserweight, and probably beyond with that 6’5″ frame.