There is something that never gets old about the story of a fighter finding his way to America to pursue his dreams and doing what it takes to succeed and accomplish improbable goals. From the dry, mountainous terrain of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia, middleweight Islam Abdusamadov made his way to the States and continues to achieve his objectives this coming Saturday night as he returns to the ring to meet Josias Gonzalez as part of “Thunder Showdown II” at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California.
Currently residing in Santa Clara, California, middleweight upstart Abdusamadov (4-0, 2 KOs) first took to boxing in his native Dagestan following his cousin to the gym.
“I started training with my cousin Sadula Magomedov in Dagestan, Russia and I liked it,” explains Abdusamadov. “I went to the store and bought a boxing bag and for two months I trained myself. I kept training and training for about two years before I started fighting amateurs in Russia.”
Fighting and training out of the mountains of Dagestan, Abdusamadov approximates he fought to a record of about 20-5 before a family member living in the San Francisco Bay Area convinced him it would be a good idea for his budding boxing career to make the move to the United States and offered to take him into his home.
“My uncle Ramazan Magomedov has helped me a lot and continues to support me,” explains Islam. “My uncle doesn’t know boxing, but he has helped me. He still helps me and cares for me a lot. My uncle was living here and told me I could be better here.”
Abdusamadov did not speak much English at the time of the move and obviously had some adapting to do once he arrived in Santa Clara. After some adjusting, and picking up the language, Abdusamadov feels at home now as he pursues his dream of boxing stardom.
“Maybe for about a year it was hard, but I had someone here, in my uncle, to help me,” explains Abdusamadov. “When I came here, I did not speak English. I learned from speaking with people myself, so for the first year it was hard, but now it is easy.”
Soon after arriving, Abdusamadov’s uncle helped his nephew find his new home boxing gym after a quick Google search pulled up the nearby Relentless Boxing and Training Center, founded by accomplished former professional, and now a well-regarded trainer, Arturo Quintero. Abdusamadov eventually ended working with Quintero and Eriky Alvarez Cosio through a few more amateur fights before the time was right to turn professional.
“Even though he didn’t have an extensive amateur career, he has developed really fast,” explains Quntero. “The power that he has is insane, insane power. He just needs to start relaxing a little bit more, work more on setting up his punches and everything else will fall into place.”
Sometimes things just work out for a reason and by chance Abdusamadov had an uncle that lived near a quality boxing gym with a good team of coaches and everything has fit just right for the Dagestan native while he pursues his singular goal of boxing success. Abdusamadov has adapted to the American fighting style while still having some of the Russian amateur teachings in his arsenal.
“I came here for training,” explains Abdusamadov. “I did not come here for clubbing or girls, I came here just to train boxing. I don’t have a choice. Before I go back to Dagestan, this is my goal. Professional boxing. For Russia, everyone is not training to be professionals, they are only training for the amateurs. The coaches only know amateur boxing. They are born for amateur boxing and I believe they are better amateurs there. But here, in the United States, we train for professional boxing. We fight in the amateurs for the experience, but we train to be professionals. Over there, they train to be the best amateurs, but not professionals.”
Abdusamadov, with his power-punching approach, crafted his style to the pro game and finally realized his dream of turning professional in November of 2023, stopping Miguel Soto-Garcia in the third round at Gold Country Casino Resort in Oroville, California.
“It is different,” explains Abdusamadov. “Amateur and professionals are very different. Professional boxing is more calm. You punch for power. You want to knock down the guy. I like knockouts. I look for the knockout. In amateurs, you have headgear and big gloves. It is hard to get a knockout. But in the pros, I like to go for the knockout. It is fun.”
Abdusamadov’s love affair with the knockout almost got him into some trouble in pro bout number two, which took place last January against eight-fight veteran Juan Meza Moreno in Sacramento, California. After dropping Meza Moreno late in the second round, Abdusamadov punched himself out late in the fight, trying to end matters inside the distance. In the end, the knockdown scored gave Abdusamadov the points win, as Meza Moreno was able to box over the last two rounds but ultimately lost 38-37 on all three cards.
“I knocked him down and tried for the knockout, but it was hard,” recalls Abdusamadov. “I tried, but I still won the decision. That is the important thing. Maybe he felt my power and decided he needed to be careful. I wanted to finish him in the fight, but still I won.”
For Abdusamadov, the experience gained in his second pro fight will serve him well for the rest of his career.
“It was a great learning experience,” says Quintero. “He pushed through and showed a lot of heart. I have been in that situation, so I know what it feels like. To push through it and come out with the win still, it was good to see. It is only going to help him for his next fights and show him that he needs to stay relaxed. It is not just about that one shot. As he starts progressing to more rounds, the fighters he is going to be fighting are going to be more experienced fighters. These guys are going to be able to take his punches a lot better than the ones when he first started. It was a good experience for him to understand that he will not be able to take everyone out with one punch. He needs to be patient, set-up his punches and when he sees the opening when the fighter is hurt, then go for that finish. But he can’t just start looking for that knockout.”
In his second fight, Abdusamadov did not need to worry about conserving energy, as he halted normally tough Matthew Monroe inside the first round last August. The Dagestan native returned less than two months later and, similarly to the Meza Moreno bout, dropped his opponent Andrew Buchanan early, but this time he boxed smarter down the stretch. Buchanan, much like Meza Moreno, reverted to a boxer’s style to close out the fight after feeling Abdusamadov’s power, which helped get the fight to the scorecards. Abdusamadov prevailed 39-36 on all three official cards.
Next up on March 8th at the Venue at Thunder Valley in Lincoln, California, Abdusamadov takes a step-up in seven-fight veteran Josias Gonzalez, a tough southpaw fighter that has fought almost exclusively against unbeaten prospects in his early pro career.
“His record might now show it, but the guy is a good fighter, a strong fighter and very durable,” says Quintero of Josias Gonzalez. “Islam can win, he just has to stick to his game plan and stay focused and relaxed and do his work.”
Helping bring confidence to Team Abdusamadov heading into battle this Saturday is the quality work they have put in preparation, especially in sparring.
“He’s ready,” says Quintero of Abdusamadov. “This has probably been his best camp since turning pro. We have got great work with Vladimir Hernandez and Cristian Baez. Even though we know Vladimir is a right hander, the work he gives us is beyond comparison. Mentally and physically, Vladimir pushes you. He just throws non-stop punches. It gives Islam that sense of pressure, how to set himself up, how to move around and get around him. How to fight a pressure fighter. With Cristian, many of the same tactics, but Cristian is more of a boxer and he is a southpaw, like Islam’s opponent will be on March 8th.”
Gonzalez is a tough guy to stop inside the distance and his last opponent, a 5-0 at the time Sincere Brooks, was lucky to escape with a split decision last November, but Abdusamadov still envisions ending things early this Saturday night.
“I never know what will happen. Once the fight starts, I will see what he brings and see if I can knock him out,” says Abdusamadov. “I always think about the knockout. If in the first round I can, I will in the first round. But we will see. Maybe the third or fourth round, but I will try. In my head, I will try to knock him out. I know it is hard to do, because the opponent can fight, but I will try and we will see. I know he is a good fighter, but I am better and we will see.”
Limited tickets remain for this Saturday’s event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com