By Alexey Sukachev, August, 18, 2006

Recovering from his most controversial loss in whole career at the hands of the reigning champ Luis Alberto Perez, Russian 115 lbs. contender Dmitry Kirillov suffered another setback as his scheduled IBF eliminator versus South African Masibulele Makepula seems failed to be realized. Despite the purse bid, won by Warrior’s Boxing Promotions in the last month, ‘Hawk’, who is ranked third by both WBC and IBF, is said to take on Mexican superstar Jorge Arce on September, 23rd, in quest for the WBC international title. The bout will possibly be also for the place of mandatory challenger to fight WBC king Masamori Tokuyama as Arce is the highest-ranked in WBC ratings of junior bantamweight division. Fightnews.com made a short stop to know how Dmitry is feeling about current situation and his plans for the nearest future.

- It seems that Makepula fight is off. Have your ever thought about possible setback or has it been a bitter surprise for you?

- I don’t think it was a surprise. I was ready for possible cancellation of the contest as Makepula’s manager (maybe Cedric Kushner) was unattainable by both his phone and e-mail since the purse bid has been staged. So I wasn’t surprised when all these rumors approached. However, I don’t know any fresh news about South African so I can’t say if the fight is finally off or not.

- Well, perhaps it’s finally off as Makepula is scheduled to take on Jorge Arce on September, 23rd.

- Whoa! I didn’t know about that. It will be a fight for Arce’s flyweight belt and Makepula will go down in weight, will he?

- No, the bout is said to be for the WBC international title in 115 lbs. Do you think SA boxer is afraid of you?

- Personally, I don’t think he is frightened. Makepula is an experienced warrior and former world champion so he isn’t a rookie in this business to be afraid of hard picks. However, I do think he decided to take on Arce because of Mexican’s starship, popularity as well as for the chance to challenge WBC titleholder in future. At the same time maybe it will be easier for him to fight Arce fight than to square off against me due to some stylistic inconsistencies.

- The purse bid has been held but has the contract with Makepula been signed or not?

- No signed deals at all. If the deal had been signed we would have had a chance to ask for sanctions versus Makepula. But situation was pretty indefinite all way long and it seems to be the same right now.

- So, what is next for you?

- I’m training hard right now preparing my body and mind for future challenges. I’m ranked 4th by IBF and Makepula was ranked 3rd with the first two places being free. So my managers will ask IBF if it’s possible to arrange another eliminator with another top-ten fighter or not.

- Who will be your opponent in this case?

- There are talks about Zed Gorres of Philippines who is ranked 5th, one place lower than me. I know this guy pretty well because he was my chief sparring partner during preparation for the Perez’ fight. So I am aware of his strengths and weaknesses pretty well.

- Is he a tough foe to face off?

- I’m to say there are no bums in top-tens at all. All these guys are strong boxers and all of them are hard to fight with. But there’s no chance of guessing who is the most convenient for you. For example, Perez was a champion. However, he was a lot easier to fight with than my previous opponent Reynaldo Lopez of Columbia.

- Are there any tune-ups scheduled?

- I prefer to fight directly in eliminator or in title contest. However, if the fight won’t materialize in time I’ll certainly use some tune-ups to stay in my best condition.

- What do you think about Oleg Maskaev recent victory, which has finalized the clean sweep by former SU fighters in heavyweight division?

- It was fantastic! One of that fascinating performances people will never forget. When the last round lasted I jumped back on my feet from the sofa, starting jumping, crying and running around room. Oleg showed trademark qualities of Russian people: determination, strong will and character and desire to continue the challenge even in bad condition. After the victory we all went to restaurant to celebrate this enormous achievement.

- This is Roman Karmazin’s phone but I hear no Roman voice in tube. Where is he and who is this guy near you?

- Roman is back to St. Petersburg right now to take a little rest. And I’m sitting with Russian welterweight Ivan Kirpa who is training in our gym right now.

- Well, thank you for an explanation and good luck!

- Thanks! Take care!