This will be your first Nemiroff?

Yes. I am looking forward to the competition. There are a number of top guys I want to pull that will be there. Denis, Pushkar, Krasimir, Matyshenko, Semerenko just to name a few.

What is your present state of preparation, and what chance do you have in your opinion?

I am coming to Warsaw the biggest and strongest I have ever been. My chances.. Nobody thought I had a chance to win WAF Worlds in 2010 and I'm sure nobody thinks I have a chance to win The Nemiroff Cup either. I beat Tokarev and Tomsons in 2010 and they both placed high in recent years at Nemiroff, so I guess maybe I have a chance.

How did you prepare for this year's Nemiroff World Cup?

My team in Erie, Pa helped me prepare on the table. I also train in the gym five days a week. I watched a lot of video of past Nemiroff matches to get an idea of how each guy pulls. Not to mention my strict diet regiment of Pizza and cheeseburgers!

They say Cyplenkov will never give up, what do you think? What do you think of his fights on Nemiroff?

I think Denis can and will be beat. Will it happen at Nemiroff? I don't know, but I think it will happen in the future. I compare Cyplenkov's run in Arm wrestling to this. I am a big UFC fan and after recently watching Anderson Silva get knocked out after letting his guard down and watching Jon Jones almost get beat after finally facing someone as big and strong as him. I realize nobody is unbeatable. Both of those guys dominated for so long. I put Denis in their category for dominating our sport the last few years like those guys dominated the UFC. But It is not easy to stay on top. Denis may let his guard down, and he will eventually face someone as strong and talented as him. Anybody can be beat on any given day!

BTW - do YOU think Pushkar can beat Denis?

I think Pushkar can beat Cyplenkov, but I don't think that he will.

Iza Małkowska