Gvozdyk: I would not be a champion without Atlas

WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (16-0, 13 KOs) explained why he began working with American coach Teddy Atlas:

“Initially, I worked with excellent lawyer David Berlin, and he is a good friend of Teddy. At a certain point in my boxing career, I began to feel that I needed to change something in order to take a step forward. That's how I met Teddy.

“Atlas is very attentive to details that other coaches do not pay attention to. He brought me to the belt, and I will tell you for sure that without him I would not have become a world champion.

“In the past I was more focused on physical condition, I thought that the more you do, the better, but I never thought how to do it. I watched one interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he said: “I train in the gym with the same guys, but they don't look very good, although they do the same thing as me. The difference is that I think about what I am doing, and this gives me the best result. ” In boxing it’s the same: when you think about your every move, about every wrong move, after which you can be punished and skip a counterstrike, it gives you the best result, that's what Teddy gives me.”

Gvozdyk’s next fight is scheduled for March 30 in Philadelphia. His opponent will be the Frenchman Doudou Ngumbu (38-8, 14 KOs).