'I have no pressure. One punch can change all your life' - Gassiev ahead of WBSS final
IBF & WBA cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev has shown nerves of iron in the lead up to his fight with WBO & WBC champ Alexander Usyk of Ukraine in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) final in Moscow this Saturday.
Both Gassiev and Usyk weighed in at an identical 89.9kg for their seismic matchup in Moscow for the right to get their hands on the competition's 'Muhammad Ali trophy' as well as $50million prize money.
For Gassiev, this will be the third of his last four bouts held in his native Russia, the most recent being a spectacular 12th round TKO of undefeated Cuban Yunier Dorticos in the WBSS semifinal in Sochi, which also saw him win the WBA super title.
IT IS ON!@WBSuperSeries Grand Finale / WBC Cruiserweight Championship🔰Olekzndr @usykaa 🔰 198.2 Lbs. 🇺🇦Murat Gassiev 198.2 Lbs. 🇷🇺#WBC#boxing#UsykGassiev#WBSSpic.twitter.com/hcdkWpX4wy
— World Boxing Council (@WBCBoxing) July 20, 2018
And the man nicknamed 'Iron', has said he feels "no pressure" going into the fight in front of a partisan crowd at Olimpiyskiy in the Russian capital.
“I’m very excited for my next fight and I don’t know what happens tomorrow night. I can’t see future,” Gassiev, 24, said before fans at Moscow's Tverskaya Square after the weigh in on Friday.
“This is cruiserweight division and everybody hits very hard. One punch can change all your life and you never know. In this division everybody has a chance and just good luck to my opponent tomorrow.
In Usyk, Gassiev will be facing one of the pound for pound top boxers on the planet and road warrior who has won and defended his belts against the best and in their own back yard. For Gassiev, who trains alongside Gennady Golovkin under the tutelage of Abel Sanchez in Big Bear, California, location and opponent makes no odds.
“I don’t have pressure for me it doesn’t matter who I fight, it doesn’t matter where - here, in the US, wherever - doesn’t matter. For me just very important my people around me and my opponent. That’s it," he said.
Usyk claimed at the pre-fight presser on Thursday that he is "absolutely not fazed" by fighting in Moscow, unsurprising for a fighter who has won both his world championship belts as the away fighter.
