"Almost nobody wants to box against him. Hardly anyone dares even to spar with Zhan either"; manager Ismael Özen-Otto says the Kazakh heavyweight is naturally compared to the fearsome Gennadiy Golovkin
Tuesday 30 November 2021 16:55, UK
Zhan Kossobutskiy is compared to Gennadiy Golovkin due to his spiteful knockout streak and has floored 'world champions' in sparring, says manager Ismael Özen-Otto.
The Kazakh heavyweight has shown early signs that he could emulate the destructive success of fellow countryman Golovkin, having stopped 16 of 17 opponents in his unbeaten career.
But Kossobutskiy's team believe his pursuit of a world championship fight is being intentionally stalled by contenders who are unwilling to risk their title ambitions against the heavy-handed southpaw.
"Almost nobody wants to box against him," his manager Ozen-Otto told Sky Sports.
"Hardly anyone dares even to spar with Zhan either."
Asked about a future world title shot," Ozen-Otto said: "He's ready!
"We have to climb up the rankings a bit more and wait for our chance, but he's ready."
Golovkin's former promotional team are now guiding Kossobutskiy, who wants to enhance his reputation with a career-defining clash.
"Golovkin made great history," said Ozen-Otto. "As a Kazakh but also as a former Universum boxer, the connection is of course made.
"The big difference is that Golovkin was a lighter weight boxer, while Zhan is boxing as a heavyweight in the Champions League.
"Zhan can do a lot more. He just has to compete against bigger and better boxers to prove himself and to make his own name bigger."
Kossobutskiy has risen up the WBA rankings after his most recent victory, a fifth round stoppage of previously unbeaten contender Alexis Garcia this month.
But Ozen-Otto has hinted that the division's top fighters are reluctant to face Kossobutskiy after punishing sparring sessions.
"There is no doubt about his great skills," he said. "Statistics don't lie.
"You can see his abilities clearly in his impressive quota of 17 fights, in which he knocked out 16 opponents.
"Not only in the ring during competitions, even in sparring he has already knocked down world champions.
"But out of respect, I don't want to mention any names here."
Tyson Fury, the unbeaten WBC champion, is being targeted by Kossobutskiy, who is eager to fight the biggest names in Britain.
"We always wanted him to fight against an English heavyweight," said Ozen-Otto. "Unfortunately nobody wanted to fight until today.
"If everything goes well with Tyson Fury and we come to an agreement, there will soon be a sensation."
