Ukrainian light heavyweight former title contender Ismail Sillah (25-4, 19 KOs) on the eve of his bout against the unbeaten Russian Alexei Papin (8-0, 7 KOs) told about his future opponent, and also made a prediction for the megafight of Vasily Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) vs Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs).
On his fight with Alexei Papin:
"I have a plan for fight. But who will talk about it on television? There is a strategy. Let's see how it works out or not. We will see. I’ve been 25 years in boxing already. I have seen it all, I have suffered, I have experience. Therefore there will be nothing new for me, there will be just a fight. Naturally, Alexei Papin is ready, he is a big and strong opponent. And he will prove something of his own, I am on my own. There must be a good fight.
Papin has now a new career. He was a kickboxer, now he is a boxer. Now he has a stage of popularity, when everyone says "oh, you are such a puncher!" But we'll see how he will feel after the defeat, when he will lie on the floor. This is the nature of the boxing, when they spit on you. What will he say to the coach: "Well, yes, we lost." In addition, he is already 30, an elderly boy. Let's see how he can overcome it.
“I respect Alexei as a boxer, because he is a boxer too. This is our story. I'm not saying that I will treat him kindly. But I want to be a teacher."
About his goals:
"Now my goal is to become a world champion. And not just become a champion, but also rise in the rankings and break out into higher levels of boxing. I think this is the dream of any athlete. Those who train, doing sports, want to achieve big goals."
About Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux:
"I think that Lomachenko will win. I do not expect knockout. But I think that Lomachenko will simply beat the Cuban up."
