Manager: Peter will ‘shatter’ both Klitschkos
Sam Peter’s manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, speaks out

Report by Mariano A. Agmi

“Samuel Peter is going to shatter the dream of the two Klitschkos reigning at the top of the heavyweight ladder at the same time into a thousand little pieces. Their promotional company is called K2, we’ll take care of K1 on October 11^th and then K2 afterwards.” - Ivaylo Gotzev, Manager of WBC Heavyweight Champ Samuel Peter

Fightnews spoke one-on-one with Samuel Peter’s manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, at Gallagher’s Steakhouse in Manhattan, last week, for the announcement of the WBC world heavyweight championship fight between current champion Peter and former champ Vitali Klitschko. Here’s what Gotzev had to say: 

Fightnews: Samuel had his good and bad moments against guys of Vitali’s size like Jameel McCline and Wladimir Klitschko. Are you concerned about the size discrepancy between Sam and Vitali?

Ivaylo Gotzev: What many people don’t realize is that Sam was only a four-year pro when he fought Wladimir. He was sort of “green” to compete on that level. Now, we are going to reap the benefits earned by the experience he’s gained from fighting guys like Wladimir and James Toney. Samuel is at the peak of his career right now. He will be mentally and physically ready for this fight. We are not going to leave any stone unturned in our preparation for this fight.

As for the McCline fight, we were originally supposed to fight Oleg Maskaev on that date for the WBC title, but instead we had 10 days of confusion not knowing if he was going to show up or not. Maskaev pulled out of the fight a few days before it was going to happen and it was a big letdown. Sam was depressed about not getting his chance at the title and that took away from his performance against McCline. Sam also suffered a perforated eardrum in camp that we thought had healed up but it was re-aggravated in the fight. 

How hurt was Peter when he was knocked down by McCline in those second and third rounds?

Sam wasn’t hurt, it was more a matter of him being off-balance. Due to the perforated eardrum, his equilibrium was off and he was dizzy. I believe that performance was a fluke, but this one here is going to be different. 

Does it concern you that this fight is taking place in Germany?

Not at all. I would love for us to knock Klitschko out in Germany. In fact, Vitali lost there before. He quit on his stool against Chris Byrd in Germany and his brother got knocked out twice in Germany. That doesn’t concern us because we have the real champion. Sam is a beast, and we don’t care where the fight takes place – it could take place in Vitali’s backyard. We’re not leaving it up to the judges.

Looking at their knockout records, it’s not very likely that this fight will go to a decision.

Not very likely. We would like to wrap the fight up early so that we can enjoy the scenery in Berlin and go home as champions.

With most of his mandatories now out of the way, who would you like for Samuel to fight after Vitali? Are you looking to unify the titles against Wladimir Klitschko?

There is absolutely no doubt that the fight against Wladimir is the next big fight in the heavyweight division. The only thing that can stand in the way of this fight is time and I will not allow time to get in the way. If the negotiations take too long we will take an interim fight.

Who else are you looking at as a future opponent for Sam in the heavyweight division, including top American contenders like Chris Arreola?

Chris Arreola could definitely be one of our future opponents if he keeps winning and looking impressive. 

How is Serguei Lyakhovich doing and what is he up to?

Serguei has recovered really well from his shoulder injury. He’s ready, willing and able to make another run at the title. I’m lining him up for a big fight soon that will get him some good exposure on his comeback.

Which other fighters are you currently guiding?

I’m an advisor to a young heavyweight from the Ukraine named Oleg Platov. He is currently 26-1 with 22 knockouts. He is ranked in the top-15 by the IBF and is an enormous puncher and a real gym rat. 

I also have what I believe is a future pound for pound champion, his name is Ismayl Sillakh. He is a light heavyweight from Los Angeles with over 300 amateur fights. He is an amateur world champion and is 3-0 with 3 first round knockouts as a pro. Look out for him as he will be fighting again next week.

You’ve found most of your greatest talent out of the Olympics – have you been busy in Beijing in the past few weeks?

Actually Dino Duva went to Beijing and scouted all of the talent; he’s going to send us a report (laughing). I’ve been busy doing business in the States but I did go to the world championships in Chicago which had twice as many fighters competing. I didn’t see anything that was worth me going to Beijing and I think I have what I need right now. I’m sure a few stars will come along in the future but fighters have been coming to me, I don’t have to go chasing them anymore.

. . . . .

With a resume that already includes former IBF Cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov, former WBO Heavyweight Champion Serguei Lyakhovich and current WBC Heavyweight Champion Samuel Peter, that is not a hard thing to imagine.