Thread: Sergei Lyakhovich..can he make it back?

Sure the last time we saw Sergei he was putting in a lackluster performance vs Nicolay Valuev a guy who a motivated Lyakhovich should have been able to handle. Now 34 Sergei is making a comeback fighting Johnnie White (who?) on the undercard of Adamek-McBride. For a short time there was talk that a Wlad-Lyakhovich fight would be highly competitive because Sergei had been used in sparring with Wlad and they had apparently had some brawls in camp.

Older fighters have a tendency to reassert themselves especially in a stagnant division, I think if properly motivated Sergei can cause for some very interesting fights...I doubt he'll have any kind of chance vs Wlad or Vitali, but you never know. I think the main guys he can look at fighting are guys like Povetkin, Boytsov, Helenius, Pulev, Ustinov, etc. Sergei is a durable guy and in shape he's a dangerous opponent, he doesn't have too much pop, but he's a decent enough fighter.

Didn't he already have a comeback fight a year ago...just don't see him making it back, I think him and brewster may have left their best in the ring that night.

Originally Posted by armin

Didn't he already have a comeback fight a year ago...just don't see him making it back, I think him and brewster may have left their best in the ring that night.

He recently signed with Kathy Duva (Main Events?) so maybe that gives him a boost. I think it's a long shot for him to come all the way back as he never has had good power and that would really help him. However if Sergei is in shape and dedicated I think he's a top 10 heavyweight...he boxes well and has a decent chin, he needed to work on his stamina.

At LEAST he loses this fight and he's done, at BEST he starts a winning streak and earns a title shot...either way I don't think him being involved hurts the division.

Lyakhovich v. Briggs II: Can the sequel get much better?

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

Lyakhovich v. Briggs II: Can the sequel get much better?

Hey man it's poor form to ONLY associate Sergei with that fight, he was just as much a part of the Brewster fight which was pretty damn good.

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

Lyakhovich v. Briggs II: Can the sequel get much better?

Hey man it's poor form to ONLY associate Sergei with that fight, he was just as much a part of the Brewster fight which was pretty damn good.

It is poor form. So when did you start taking up for the whole HW division?

I've always stood up for the heavyweights. Its not fair to expect EVERY heavyweight fight to be Bowe-Holyfield (not accusing you of course)....just some people (the avg. Joe, the casual fan) have this assumption that the bigger the fighters the more they should brawl instead of box. Also the heavyweight division unlike all other divisions don't regularly have meaningful fighters come in from other weight classes to replenish the division so the same old guys stick around for a long time and if you look at ANY heavyweight champion's record you're bound to see a past their prime top rated recycled heavyweight on there. For Wlad its Rahman, for Vitali its Briggs, for Lewis its Tyson, for Holyfield and Tyson its Holmes, for Holmes its Ali, etc on and on down the line though its happened more recently, otherwise Golota wouldn't have had as many title shots as he got. Could the division use new fighters? Hell yeah, but until they come along, guys like Lyakhovich could turn out to be good enough to pass the time.

I think he can make it back to a big fight...it doesn't take much these days. Whether or not he wins is a different story. Being with Main Events will certainly help. They'll keep him active fighting on Adamek/Judah undercards. Inactivity and injuries have hurt his career in recent years.

How does Liakhovich-Arreola sound? Assuming Liakhovich can get back to pre-Briggs form or at least close to it.

Not sure, thats a long road back. He looked physically horrible in Valuev fight. He's been on the big stage and with right promotion and inner umpf he can shake of the ring rust to attain a big fight. Stylistically he's solid, or was, nice tight boxer with decent pop. With exception of a couple the division is somewhat crap, won't hurt at all to have another nugget to throw in the pool.

Yes, i think he can make it back.....back to being a very average heavyweight.