Sergei Dzinziruk camp diary

Sergei Dzinziruk camp diary 

By Alexey “Oscar” Potapov

Photo: Dwight McCann

WBO junior middleweight champion Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KOs) spoke to Fightnews.com about his upcoming fight against WBC middleweight champion emeritus Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) on March 12 at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The winner will get the WBC Diamond belt.

Camp Location: I know that in Ukraine it’s now very cold, a lot of snow. But in my training camp in Los Angeles we have fine weather and sun. Now I’m finishing my physical preparation for the fight and all is going according to plan. My trainer Buddy McGirt and I are spending a lot of time together. I have problems with the English language, but it doesn’t hinder us as we understand each other well in boxing language. I’m getting a lot out of working with him and he’s one of the best trainers in the world. How he organizes the training process in my camp is interesting. These are the best conditions for preparing for a fight.

Training Regimen: On Monday I’ll start to engage actively in sparring sessions. We’ve studied Martinez’s manner, his style and we know what sparring partners are necessary for me. He’s a southpaw as I am, I’m a little taller, but technically, defensively and jab is excellent. I should mainly use the jab to keep him at the necessary distance. He can’t do anything with it [in his face].

Diet: Now my diet consists only of meat, fruit and vegetables. This my fuel. My condition is excellent, I’m at fighting weight.

Personal Sacrifice: Some days ago I was in New York at the Martinez-Dzinziruk press-conference for the fight. There were many reporters and interest to our fight from the public is very big. For the first time I saw my opponent close up and he made a good impression upon me. He behaved politely towards me, wasn’t offensive and didn’t talk a lot as is done by almost all American boxers. Sergio is a good guy. I heard that he helps poor people and is engaged in charity. This is good work. But in the ring I’ll do what’s necessary. It’ll be a difficult fight for me, very interesting for fans of boxing, and I intend to win it.