Alexander Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) returns to boxing after a break of more than three years. His opponent will be the Argentinean Jorge Daniel Miranda (58-21, 28 KOs). Yes, the opponent’s level raises doubts, but the Ukrainian boxer is pleased with him.
The fight will take place in the USA, Alexander does not set huge plans for himself, but wants to try to return fully.
Gvozdyk retired from boxing after the loss. He defeated Beterbiev on the notes of the judges, but was knocked out, after which he went into business
The loss to Artur Beterbiev in 2019 hit Gvozdyk unexpectedly hard. Alexander had previously been an undefeated champion with a WBC belt and a contender for more than one title. And then the absolute championship.
At that point, light heavyweight looked very even. There were three Russians: Beterbiev, Bivol and Kovalev. The third is the oldest, and was already clearly on the decline. The first is a puncher, dangerous, but it seemed that this problem could be solved by more technical opponents. Among them were the still developing Bivol and Gvozdyk.
The duel between Top Rank clients was intriguing. Both opponents with a punch, both good boxers, although Gvozdyk looked more diverse. In general, nothing could be ruled out: from a knockout of each of the fighters to a victory by a decision of the judges.
Alexander got off to a good start. He had an advantage over his opponent thanks to his legs, jab and a reasonable distribution of activity. But, as it turned out, the Ukrainian cannot box the whole fight at such a pace under such pressure and blows. Gvozdik is trite and just started to give up physically.
From round to round, he scored points, hit, but slowed down. At the same time, Beterbiev did not suffer from the opponent’s hits and only increased the pressure. The Russian hit, worked on the body and quite reasonably built attacks. This led to the result – in the tenth round Gvozdyk was knocked down three times and the referee stopped the fight.
The force of the blow did not frighten either Gvozdyk or the fans. Alexander himself noted that Beterbiev is not as strong a puncher as they say about him, and not as bad a boxer as most people think. The poor physical readiness of the Ukrainian affected. Even not so much bad as inadequate. Gvozdik simply couldn’t move and attack in the same way as at the beginning. I could not adapt to the opponent, who did not stop in pressure. And Teddy Atlas could not think of more than one plan to bring the fighter to victory.
It seemed like we could go back. The defeat looked devastating, the Ukrainian boxer did not look his best in the last rounds, but in total it turned out that Gvozdyk even won on the judges’ notes. Two saw the victory of the Ukrainian 87-83 and 86-85. The third preferred the Russian – 87-83.
But Gvozdyk decided differently and retired. He said that there was no more motivation and that he wanted to do other things. At that moment, Alexander was 33 years old. During this time, he started his own business – in Ukraine. Kharkiv resident opened an online casino. Rather, he invested money in it – more than one million dollars. And he actively participated in business: he often flew to Ukraine from the USA, where he lives permanently and planned to develop:
“Recently, I have been in Kyiv approximately every 2 months. I’m in the gaming business. I am the owner of an online casino. I myself don’t play in the casino at all, because I know the rule that the casino always wins.
I have invested over a million dollars in my business. After a sports career, there was enough money for this, but we’ll see how it goes, because it’s one thing to start, and another to bring to mind. We are trying,” Gvozdyk said in 2021.
However, already at the beginning of 2022, everything changed for each of the Ukrainians. Gvozdik’s business has actually closed – he told about it himself when he announced the return. Said there was no more business due to the full scale invasion and so there was time to go back. Of course, one of the reasons is money, but not the main one. Says it’s the quickest way to restock and try something that has always worked out pretty well.
It is also worth noting that Alexander does not aim for great achievements. He says that at first he wants to return, and then he will look at his condition. The opponent was chosen for a long time. Gvozdyk wanted to return in 2022, but everything was postponed – some fighters did not want to go out, others wanted too much money. As a result, the Argentinean Jorge Daniel Miranda agreed.
Who is the favorite?
It’s pretty funny to discuss the favorite in this fight. Of course, Gvozdyk has a margin, although there is no line for this fight.
Miranda boxing actively, but this is the only positive thing. Jorge Daniel is 39 years old, he has a lot of defeats and very few fights that have even gone ten rounds. The fight against Gvozdyk is planned for six rounds, but whether he will pull the Ukrainian if he gives at least half of his base pace is a rhetorical question.
The Argentine holds the punch well – only nine defeats by knockout out of twenty-one. But no one has ever beaten him the way Gvozdyk can. In general, there are no fighters of the level of Alexander in the record.
Miranda is also just small. Against the background of Carnation, of course. 167 centimeters tall and 170 centimeters arm span versus 188 centimeters tall and 192 centimeters arm span. All this looks unreliable for the Argentinean.
If you look at this fight purely as a comeback fight, then it’s normal. Carnation will not even be in the co-main event of the evening, but just somewhere in the middle of the undercard. He will come, try to see if things are going well, and that’s all.
Not the pace that fans might like to see, but Alexander has always been distinguished by prudence. This does not guarantee that Gvozdyk will not quickly get in shape and level up his opponents. But that doesn’t mean he’s ever going to come back. If the Ukrainian does not like something, he can simply close the defeat, which was the final one in his career, and continue to do other things.
But Gvozdik’s bright knockout is always a pleasure to watch.
The fight Oleksandr Gvozdik – Jorge Miranda will take place on Saturday, February 11, in the city of Pomona (California).
