‘I’m The Biggest Amateur Boxing Talent In Europe; Pro Ranks My Target’  –Farzahd Razaghzadeh

A certain amateur boxing gem,  Farzahd Razaghzadeh, who started in kickboxing in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is currently signed up with Egis Klimas –  the manager of Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko – boasts that he has the foremost ambition of graduating into the Pro ranks and making a big name for himself.

In this interview, Razaghzadeh who prides himself as “the biggest amateur talent in Europe”,  talks about how he was inspired into taking to the pugilist career,  his exciting amateur boxing fight history so far,  plan for a stadium fight soon, and his foremost goal in boxing.

The excerpts…

Could you please Introduce yourself?

Razaghzadeh: My name is Farzahd Razaghzadeh. My amateur record is 62W, 54KO, and 8L. And I live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

When did you know that fighting was going to be your career path?

I know it’s a casual answer, but I’m just born with it, every time when my cousins and I went outside, we were always fighting with other guys. Everywhere; at weddings, football matches, school, etc. So I started fighting in the streets at the age of 4 and I started boxing at the age of 8! And I knew when I wrapped my hands for the first time that this will be my legacy!

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Did you receive any pushback from family members on your decision to become a fighter?

Yes! If you know how many times I argued with my mom and brother about me becoming a boxer. My dad always supported me because he always knew I would take over boxing. But my brother just didn’t wanna see me getting hurt. And you know how moms are – that was the toughest thing in my career – to get my mom’s permission to start boxing.

Having parents on your side is always a blessing. So, what steps did your father take to ensure that you can pursue your dream?

A lot. He always woke up early on his free days of work,  to bring me to the boxing gym which is almost an hour’s drive. An hour’s drive in The Netherlands is a lot. He always supports me and is always angry at me when I don’t wanna go to the gym. He always says you hate me, know but you gonna love me later once you become a champ! And my brother – he is the man that made me into a beast.  Without my brother, I would’ve been this disciplined and strong.

Family members laid out the foundation for you to become a boxer. But there must be some fighter who you looked up to at the start of your career. So, who was your inspiration?

My inspiration is just my brother. Because his work ethic and discipline is something else. And as fighters, it’s always been Wladimir Klitschko, Mike Tyson, and Badr Hari.

So tell us about your journey so far. With 70 amateur fights under your belt, what has the sport taught you so far? Something that you can implement both inside the ring and outside of it?

With my kickboxing fights more than 120 amateur fights between… the sport has taught me a lot of hard work, discipline, and one of the most important things, sacrifices. When I was at the age of 17, going all the way to the other side of the planet for my boxing training camp for a long time alone, that’s a lot of sacrifices; no family or friends. From The Netherlands to America that’s a big step, especially at that age. But luckily, the promoters, managers, and trainers were super nice to me and made me feel good. And now I feel more comfortable to make a trip on my own.

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With so much boxing and kickboxing experience in the amateur scenes, do you feel comfortable taking the next step and becoming a pro fighter?

Yes, I feel very comfortable now. It’s time I can choose to go for theOlympics. But my goal is just to fight in the pro rankings. I feel very ready to participate as a pro. I’m ready, and so are my fans!

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So, let’s not keep the fans waiting? Are we finally ready to break the news and let your fans know about your first pro boxing bout?

I can’t exactly say when I’m fighting because I don’t know it myself. But I always said one thing – my goals are to sell out stadiums! And I’m gonna make that happen. I would say be ready.

Are you going through any special preparations for the big move? Or is it business as usual?

Yes, there are some differences in this camp. Mostly in my amateur days, I was training in the Netherlands for my fights. But now as a pro fighter, I have my training camp in the US. I went almost everywhere in the world to see where I feel the best to train. I went to the UK, Portugal, and more, but the US is the perfect place for me. We are now discussing where we gonna base myself. It’s gonna be  New York City, Los Angeles, or Philadelphia, Florida.