By Erik Schmidt: 2008 Russian Olympic Gold Medalist Rakhim Chakhkiev has reportedly turned pro and signed a pro contract with the German based promotional boxing company Universum (the same company that the Klitschko brothers started out with after turning pro in the 90s). Chakhkiev, 26, a southpaw brawler known for his tendency to turn his bouts into wars, will be moving down to the cruiserweight division rather than continuing on as a heavyweight.
In the Olympics, Chakhkiev fought at the 201 pound heavyweight limit and not the super heavyweights. At 6’2″, it’s possible that Chakhkiev could wind up in the heavyweight division, although he’s more suited for the cruiserweight division given that he’s not a huge puncher.
Chakhkiev defeated four opponents in the 2008 Olympics in the process of winning his heavyweight Gold Medal, beating Ali Mazaheri (Iran) 7-3, John M’Bumba (France) 18-9, Osmay Acosta (Cuba) 10-5 and Clemente Russo (Italy) 4-2 in the finals. In each case, Chakhkiev went up against a boxer and made it messy for them by turning the fights into all out brawls. Even against the Cuban fighter, Osmay Acosta, a pure boxer/puncher with a pro style, Chakhkiev charged him the entire fight throwing flurries and wrestling with him on the inside.
The ability to brawl combined with his heavy pressure offense, southpaw style and excellent chin, made Chakhkiev hard to beat in the Olympics. Most of his fights were very sloppy with a lot of hitting and holding, wrestling, missed punches and fighters falling to the canvas.
However, Chakhkiev showed that he’s very good at mixing it up with his opponents and tiring them out with his heavy pressure. Presumably, his new German promotional company won’t try to change Chakhkiev’s basic attack style of fighting because it’s unclear whether he can be successful fighting in another style. In the Olympic finals against Italian Clemente Russo, Chakhkiev fought in a more reserved style, only attacking periodically.
The style didn’t seem to suit him and it made the fight much tougher than it would have otherwise been. In the 4th round and final round with the score knotted up at 2-2, Chakhkiev went back to his old style of fighting and pulled quickly picked up to points and won the fight 4-2. Chakhkiev is stocky and tank-like, perfectly suited for brawling with his opponents.
In his Olympic matches, Chakhkiev would often charge forward and throw three to four punches and then tie up his opponent to prevent them from throwing anything back. It wasn’t pretty to watch, but it was quite effective. It’s similar to the way that Bernard Hopkins, John Ruiz and Wladimir Klitschko fight, except in their cases, they don’t try to brawl like Chakhkiev typically does.
In Chakhkiev’s best fight of the Olympics, his 10-5 victory over the Cuban fighter Acosta, Chakhkiev was all over the taller Cuban, smothering the Cuban’s offense, and not letting Acosta move around the ring. It was really effective and I could see Chakhkiev doing the same kind of thing as a pro when facing skilled boxers like the Cuban.