Andrei Arlovski to Sign With Golden Boy Promotions; First Fight Could Be WBA Title Fight (UPDATED)

by Anton Tabuena on Dec 31, 2008 4:05 PM EST

According to FightHype, Andrei Arlovski is about to sign with Golden Boy Promotions. His first boxing match could potentially be against the 7-ft tall, WBA Heavyweight champion, Nikolai Valuev.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is set to announce his signing with Golden Boy Promotions and that win, lose or draw against Fedor Emelianenko on January 24th, his next fight will take place inside of a boxing ring.

"If Andrei wins against Fedor on the 24th, I would put him right into a title fight with Nikolai Valuev right away. It would be Belarus vs. Russia and that's huge marketing for PPV and Andrei has a huge crowd in that area. He will cross over into boxing though. That is a definite! His next fight after Fedor will be a boxing match," stated world-class trainer Freddie Roach, who's been working with Arlovski for his last few fights.

Editorial Comment from Brent Brookhouse: I think it needs to be made clear that there is no possible way that a 0-0 boxer can get sanctioned in the United States to face a current world champion so it would have to be overseas. Also, no boxing commission will sanction this fight for a title. Boxing does not work in a way where you come in and fight an immediate 12 round title fight.

While I wouldn't argue that boxing has it's fair share of issues with corruption I can promise you that the WBA or any other sanctioning body has rules in place for what fighters are and are not allowed to challenge for their titles. Were Arlovski to get a shot at a title in his first fight it would be a joke and a travesty.

Finally from the WBA's rating criteria:

3- For a boxer to be rated in the fifteen (15) position and to compete for a world title he must have competed in at least (5) 10-round bout or have a regional title.

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Comments

valuev is the 1 guy that arlovski could actually beat right now. he is awful. if a.a can get a big ko, i can see him making alot of money in boxing. well see. having to beat fedor 1rst is a big if though.

by bdw on Dec 31, 2008 5:18 PM EST reply actions

I counted myself as a huge AA fan but he has lost me with his actions over the past couple of years, the guy could have been the best HW ever but after he lost his fire he’s never been the same. Now he’s talking about going to box?, I really want Fedor to smash him like he did Sylvia because AA needs to get brought back to earth he’s not a boxer and would get embarrased in the ring.

by Raker on Dec 31, 2008 5:44 PM EST reply actions

I see BJJ guys start taking Muay Thai, the want to go fight MT as well. i think it is just the same thing, only at a different level.

If he beats Fedor, I think he should avoid this completely, as his mma stock will be very high.

I find this to be little more than mildly interesting. There is enough bad boxing already, lol. I would probably watch this if it is on HBO or Showtime, but I wouldn’t pay a dollar to see it on ppv (I will be ppv-ing Affliction 2).

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

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by BJJDenver on Dec 31, 2008 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

The guy is obviously a sick athlete, so who knows. I just don’t think you can learn a skill like Boxing overnight and expect to fight for a championship. I don’t care how sad Valuev is, he’s been boxing his whole life and that makes Arlovski a HUGE dog.

Plus, why would he box if he were to beat Fedor? I mean wow, his value would be so lucrative at that point. It would be a terrible move to take a boxing match unless he was getting paid millions.

by lbk on Dec 31, 2008 6:15 PM EST reply actions

Boxers actually get paid that

He would probably get in the neighborhood of 1 to 1.5 million

by skwirrl on Dec 31, 2008 6:28 PM EST up reply actions

IF he fought Valuev for a title belt

If he fought on a non televised small time bout it would be way different. But against an alphabet title holder like Valuev a million dollar payday is pretty much guaranteed in boxing’s model

by skwirrl on Dec 31, 2008 6:29 PM EST up reply actions

Yea if he could get the title fight as his first ever boxing match then it would be a pretty smart move on his part to cash in, if he can’t get that fight then this is a lot more sketchy.

by who me on Dec 31, 2008 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, but he would get paid at least 3 mil in the UFC if he beats Fedor.

by cyph on Dec 31, 2008 6:45 PM EST up reply actions

Was his Affliction contract just 3 fights and was the EliteXC fight one of those fights? He might not be able to go back to the UFC that quickly. If they are crazy enough to give him a big dollar boxing title fight he might as well cash in, he can go back to the UFC later(it’s not like they parted on bad terms).

by who me on Dec 31, 2008 7:03 PM EST up reply actions

If this does happen, I hope Valuev crushes him. Perhaps this MMA to boxing idea would be snuffed out and guys could just concentrate on our improving our sport.

by jebushchrist on Dec 31, 2008 6:43 PM EST reply actions

Even if he doesn’t beat Fedor, he’d still beat Valuev. Valuev is too slow to beat Arlovski. Too stiff.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by FlyByKnight on Dec 31, 2008 6:44 PM EST reply actions

He’s still been boxing longer that Arlovski. You do understand that boxing is a skill that takes YEARS to become competent enough to fight at Valuev’s level, right? I mean, this is the equivalent of Roach saying Manny is going to fight for the WEC batamweight title because he has been working on his wrestling lately..

by lbk on Dec 31, 2008 6:48 PM EST up reply actions

If a MMA guy can go into boxing with a years worth of training and beat one of their world champions then it would be a big blow to the sport’s remaining credibility but that doesn’t mean that Arlovski couldn’t win the fight.

by who me on Dec 31, 2008 7:00 PM EST up reply actions

Valuev is pretty bad...

…for a world champion. But he does hit fairly hard and has decent “boxing skills” for a guy his size. He presents a problem with his size to ANY heavyweight in the world despite his not being that “good” it would be a pretty awful idea.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 7:08 PM EST up reply actions

I still think that Arlovski’s speed, agility, and quickness would be too much for Valuev to overcome. Hell, Holyfield beat him. It just didn’t get called right.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by FlyByKnight on Dec 31, 2008 9:15 PM EST up reply actions

Yes...

Holyfield who, while old, is one of the greatest heavyweights ever. Vs. Arlovski…a fairly decent boxer for an MMA fighter who is getting good reviews in a boxing camp. It’s unrealistic to think that the different in actual boxing experience doesn’t matter.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 9:19 PM EST up reply actions

Weoweoweo

Sorry for adding a comment into your article…but it is important to note that there are factors and rules in place for these sanctioning bodies which would prevent such a situation from happening.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 7:08 PM EST reply actions

Also..

I should point out that Freddie Roach doesn’t get to decide who gets title shots. It isn’t his call

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 7:09 PM EST up reply actions

its all good. I was actually wondering about the same thing. How can a 0-0 guy go up against the champ right away? that has to be some corrupt officials if that happens.. haha. if it was de la hoya actually speaking about the title shot, i would be more convinced, but its just his trainer so i had my doubts too. So there, I still wrote what roach and fight hype said.

plus, its good to know that they have the rules of having a minimum number of fights before going for the title.. and i got to learn something new today. haha. :)

http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/

by Anton Tabuena on Jan 1, 2009 1:36 AM EST up reply actions

And people think Lesnar got HIS title shot too quickly.

by Derek Suboticki on Dec 31, 2008 7:49 PM EST reply actions

No worry...

as I pointed out in the editorial comment it can’t possibly happen.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 7:54 PM EST up reply actions

If you dont make it a title fight this would be easy to get sanctioned overseas… (where the fight will happen anyway)

Now if he beats fedor he will have a big pay day waiting for him at zuffa… so I doubt he will box if he wins.

He may box if he loses but then he’ll have to work his way up to a marquee boxing match.

by mmalogic on Dec 31, 2008 8:34 PM EST up reply actions

Well...

yes. I’m saying the title fight won’t happen, sure if they take the title part off the table they can get it cleared overseas outside of reasonable athletic commission oversight. It would still be borderline retarded.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 31, 2008 8:40 PM EST up reply actions

You also have to realize that having boxing on the table is a negotiating tactic.

by mmalogic on Jan 1, 2009 2:20 AM EST up reply actions

For sure it is...

I’m just a little disappointed in Roach for being willing to put out such a strange statement which actually somewhat damages the credibility of the sport where he makes his money.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 1, 2009 11:04 AM EST up reply actions