Alexander Shlemenko: Fight with Halsey was very principled
Alexander Shlemenko commented on his victory over Brandon Halsey in an interview with Match TV.
- "Do you know how terrible it is before such a fight?" - this is your phrase, when we spoke recently about your revenge with Halsey. The truth was scary before this fight?
- You see, you come out with a great wrestler. Who will wrestle you - and not in a cage. This means that you can hardly climb, because there are ropes. If you climb up, you will be accused of grabbing the ropes. I was worried. Fighting with Halsey - for me it was very important. And very nervous. Now this load was off.
- Is it true that Halsey fell from blows to the liver when you trained with him several years ago?"
- On sparring with him, I did the same as now. Really did. And then our first fight happened - and for some reason I began to try to put him away from my hand. Although in the sparring with hand to his head I did not drop him, but kicked the liver - dropped. Halsey does not protect the liver very well.
- From the side it seemed that the bodybuilding physique makes him hold his hands high - and opens the liver under attack.
- Yes. His broadest muscles are such that they do not allow him to reduce his elbows and protect the liver. In general, you know what I want to say. The first preparation for Halsey was the most expensive in my life. I took many lessons, personal training in the US. I do not argue - I realized their significance later. But at that moment, with the most expensive preparation, I suffered the fastest defeat in my life. Now the preparation was one of the cheapest: I was preparing at home. And I won the fastest victory. I realized: there is no point in the pile of sparring partners, if none of them help you. It's better to have one that will really work for you. Most of all in the training helped me my sparring partner Andrei Koreshkov. I'm very grateful to him. Several times he found himself with a pierced liver during my preparation for the fight. Andrei, come here, tell me.
Andrei Koreshkov: The rattling was amazing. Really it was very hard. I copied Halsey - and Sanya in training a couple of times he put me out in the same way as today he planted Halsey. So the plan for the fight was well worked out for me. In general, I witness how Sanya planted Halsey in sparring during training in the US - even before their first fight. When Sanya practiced on his liver during a training session, Halsey usually bent for a long time and then jumped off. And Halsey's trainers asked Sanya not to hit him hard. And Halsey himself after that either was late for sparring, or did not come to them at all. Work in a pair with Sanya for more than two rounds in training Halsey never worked.
Shlemenko: Yes, he was ready to fight in training, but avoided struts. I think that's why the first fight was formed. I was too sure of the victory. And he bought all this. He believed that it would be easy for him to win.
- What's left for Halsey after two fights?" Could you work with him, for example, as before?
- No. I would not train with him anymore. All these phrases about how cool he is. Or about the fact that he will beat me in my backyard. This is not the most pleasant person.
- Two days before the fight, you explained your excitement: "If we fought in the street, I would not worry. But we will fight in the ring - and there Halsey has chances. " Halsey would not have a chance on the street?
- He would not. I come from an army hand-to-hand combat. This is a street fight, the main principle of which is the maximum neutralization of the opponent. There, for example, finish kicking in the head. And if Halsey in the street was formed as he is now, then I would kick him on the head, like a football. And most likely his head would bounce. And I would still be in shoes. And if it were not just shoes, but the boots... So imagine what the meeting in the backyard he was talking about might end.