Denis Shafikov

Denis Shafikov
Shafikov in 2011
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Genghis Khan
Rated at	Lightweight Light-welterweight
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Reach	174 cm (69 in)
Nationality	Russian
Born	3 June 1985 Miass, Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	39
Wins	36
Wins by KO	19
Losses	2
Draws	1

Denis Shafikov (born 3 June 1985) is a Russian professional boxer. He is a former European super-lightweight champion and has challenged twice for the IBF lightweight title.^[1] As of April 2016, Shafikov is ranked by The Ring magazine as the world's eighth best lightweight.^[2]

Early life and amateur career

According to Shafikov, he did not immediately take a liking to boxing when trying out different sports in childhood. He nonetheless began his amateur career at 13 years old, in which he had "about 90 amateur fights and lost only 6 of them." His decision to turn professional was based on wanting to earn money for his family, rather than medals.^[3]

Professional career

Shafikov made his professional debut on 30 November 2003, winning a four-round unanimous decision over Pavel Lyakhov, who also debuted.^[1] For the next eleven years, Shafikov would remain undefeated while fighting mainly in Finland, having moved there in 2007.^[3] On 29 October 2010, he fought to a majority draw against Brunet Zamora, with the regional WBA Inter-Continental light-welterweight title on the line. A year later, on 23 September 2011, Shafikov won his first major regional championship—the European light-welterweight title—by forcing veteran contender Giuseppe Lauri to retire in his corner.^[4] Two successful defences of the title were made in 2012: the first was against Lee McAllister on 25 February, which ended in an eighth-round corner retirement.^[5] The second was a rematch with Zamora on 31 May, which Shafikov won via unanimous decision.^[6]

On 22 February 2014, Shafikov travelled to Macau to face IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vázquez. In what was described as a "lightweight title fight that completely sucked the air out of [the] venue" due to "clinching, headbutts and lots of other matters that don't quite reflect actual fighting", Vázquez went on to hand Shafikov his first professional loss in a lacklustre unanimous decision.^[7] The following year, on 18 December, Shafikov received another opportunity to fight for the now-vacant IBF lightweight title, this time against Rances Barthelemy, but lost again via unanimous decision.^[8]

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Personal life

Despite his nickname of Genghis Khan, Shafikov is of Bashkir rather than Mongol ethnicity. The nickname was given to him by his Finnish promoter, with Shafikov saying that he wants to "conquer the world as Genghis Khan did." His favourite boxers include Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.^[3]

References

1. Professional boxing record for Denis Shafikov from BoxRec. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
2. "Lightweight Ratings". The Ring. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
3. Wainwright, Anson (2012). "Denis Shafikov: "I want to conquer the world as Djingis Khan did."". Max Boxing. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
4. Persson, Per Ake (23 September 2011). "Denis Shafikov Stops Giuseppe Lauri, Wins EBU Belt". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
5. Smallwood, Jimmy (25 February 2012). "Lee McAllister loses European title fight against Denis Shafikov". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
6. "Shafikov wins rematch over Zamora". fightnews.com. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
7. Donovan, Jake (22 February 2014) "Zou Shiming Wins By TKO, Vazquez Decisions Shafikov". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
8. Campbell, Brian (19 December 2015). "Rances Barthelemy beats Denis Shafikov via unanimous decision". ESPN. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

External links

• Denis Shafikov at Top Rank