By: Hans Themistode
Anyone who has ever had dreams, understands that it only it takes an opportunity for everything to fall into place. Those opportunities however, are far and few between.
Super Lightweight prospect Yurik Mamedov is in the midst of a stellar boxing career. Through 12 professional bouts he has won 11 of them. Truth be told, he should be sitting here as an undefeated fighter as his 2017 defeat at the hands of Marcus Beckford was highly disputed. Still, even with that small blimp on his resume, Mamedov has enjoyed a successful career thus far.
Unlike many young prospects, Mamedov has not had the luxury of getting many fights as of late. In the career of a young fighter, it is ordinary to see them grace the ring four, five, even six times during a year.
In 2017, Mamedov made six appearances in the ring and excelled winning five of those aforementioned contest. The following year, however, things began to change. He entered the ring just twice during the year and has since followed that up with just one appearance in 2019.
Things needed to be altered. Mamedov, who was born in Russia but currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, decided to make a change. After spending several years as a free agent, he watched as fight after fight fell by the wayside. Just a few short months ago, Mamedov signed a deal with Uprising promotions in order to get the opportunities he has been longing for.
“I made some big changes,” said Mamedov. “I decided to work with Uprising promotions. I have a five fight deal with them and I believe it was the right move for me to do. I had so many fights that got canceled and I couldn’t just continue to train and not actually fight. Me and my new promoters sat down and discussed my future and I like the vision that he has for me so it has me excited.”
The excitement is easy to understand. Shortly after signing his deal with Uprising promotions, he was given a fight date immediately. Mamedov is also being given a shot at a title as well.
“My upcoming fight will be for the WBA Southern Caribbean title against Eduardo Cordovez. The plan is to win this title and work my way into a ranked position in the WBA. I’m glad to be working with Uprising for my future fights. This is my first time that I’ve ever signed a deal with any promoter but I’m happy that I did.”
Although the WBA Southern Caribbean is a smaller trinket, it is something that can position him down the line to securing major fights. The contest between Mamedov and Corovez will take place in Kingston Jamaica. It isn’t the most ideal place for the 28 year old, but he is grateful for the opportunity nevertheless.
“This will be my first fight outside of the country in my professional career but I’m used to it. I’ve fought in France and Puerto Rico in the amateurs so traveling for a fight isn’t a big deal to me. I’m just glad that I will be fighting on pay per view for the first time in my career and it won’t be expensive either. Anyone that wants to watch my fight can go to TelevisionJamaica.com and pay four dollars to watch a great fight. I want everyone to tune in so they can finally see what I can do.”
For just about anyone else, the thought of fighting in another country can be a burden. But for Mamedov, his fight in Jamaica will be easy compared to the fight that him and his people have been dealing with over the years.
“I am Yezidi myself and since 2012 we have been killed by Isis,” said Mamedov. “Because they want to convert us to Islam to become Muslim, they kidnap the women and turn them into sex slaves.”
With the ordeals that his people have currently gone through, Mamedov will look to use this as motivation going forward. The ultimate goal for Mamedov is to secure a title shot in his natural weight class of the Super Lightweight division.
“All I need is a few more fights and I’ll be ready for a world title shot. Now that I am in my normal weight class I believe I will be even more effective. With just a few more fights under my belt I’ll be ranked with the WBA and I’ll be given a title shot within a couple years. First things first, I have to take care of business in my next fight on November 16th.”
Fueled by the trials and tribulations of his people, coupled with the biggest opportunity of his career, Mamedov can’t afford to let this moment go to waste.
