Ahead of the 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool: BOXSPORT spoke to DBV super heavyweight Nikita Putilov about his preparations for the tournament and his chances of winning precious metal.
Hello Nikita, you are currently at a training camp in Sheffield with the DBV team. Together with eight other teammates, you are honing your form for the first World Boxing Elite World Championships in Liverpool, which begin on September 4. How did your preparation for this sporting highlight of the year go?
All in all, quite okay. Of course, preparation can always be better, but we are currently in the process of restructuring with our new center for international competition preparation at the national boxing base in Heidelberg. Not everything is going perfectly yet with the centralization, but that’s normal in the initial phase. Yes, and here in Sheffield we are currently putting the finishing touches to our training. I’m fit and everything should be in order before the first bell.
“The competition is huge, the power density enormous.”
At the World Boxing Cup in the Kazakh capital Astana in July, you were only stopped in the final by the Kazakh Aibek Oralbay. An important stage on the way to the World Championships?
Absolutely. The tournament with strong competition was important for the ring and competition feeling. A really good preparation for the upcoming World Championships, no question.
World Boxing has long since established itself as an association and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The number of participating nations has continued to rise in recent months. The field of participants at the World Championships in Liverpool is likely to be correspondingly strong. Which nations do you consider to be particularly strong in the men’s competition, especially in your super heavyweight limit?
In Astana, almost 30 nations took part, in Liverpool there will be around 70. Instead of just over 250 athletes, more than 550 will be competing. This shows that the competition is huge, the power density enormous. In my limit, boxers from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Cuba are likely to be among the strongest. These are the three nations with a good chance of winning a medal. But every opponent can be beaten. You have to find out their strengths and weaknesses in order to beat them at the decisive moment.
“I already have my eye on the Olympics”
Yes, and now the key question: What chances do you think you have in Liverpool, what do you expect? And: Are you already looking towards the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles?
Clearly, I came here to go home with the gold medal. And: Yes, I already have my sights set on the Olympics. Anyone who achieves a good ranking at the World Championships and collects a lot of points will be better rated at the Olympics, i.e. ranked higher. The top opponents won’t be waiting until the quarter-finals. That is an advantage.
In short, my chances are there. And boxing is 80 percent mental. If you approach it with confidence, anything is possible. I know I have everything I need to be successful. In Liverpool, I just have to go for it and win.
Interview: Oliver Rast