What are your general impressions on Nemiroff 2013? Before the Cup there was talk of it definitely being much better than all the previous editions. Was that so, in your opinion?

The organization was great, no doubt. What seemed impossible only last year, became true this year. Nemiroff is a great indicator of our sport’s evolution towards a show, a spectator sport.

Are you happy with your fights, both in your weight class and in the OPEN?

Could you be unhappy with being a champion in your category? Nemiroff left me with a great feeling, only the OPEN category could dampen my mood a little. I’m not disappointed though, I had to fight with sore arms. All in all, I’m very happy with my starts.

What were the reasons of your losses?

Sadly, I cannot ignore injuries. And they have been piling up lately, influencing my scores. I’m very serious now about my rehabilitation process, I think next year I should be in great shape again.

From a spectator’s point of view, what impressed you the most this year on Nemiroff?

During the Cyplenkov vs. Chaffee fight I was in the locker room, preparing for the right-hand finals, but I’ve seen the recordings. I’m astounded with Dave’s power.

He’s the only one right now to put the fear in Cyplenkov’s heart. I also liked the Prudnyk – Zoloyev bout. Zenia surprised me a great deal, I’m very proud of him. Yesterday he beat Rustam Babayev, today – Khadzimurat Zoloyev. So, who’s next for him?

The Eurosport technical issue, the actions of Semerenko, Zhoh quitting from the OPEN… Still, do you think the Nemiroff was a success?

The Eurosport situation upset the organizers a great deal. That’s all I have to say on the matter. It’s a shame that Zhoh dropped out of the OPEN. I think he could upset it a great deal, he’s incredibly strong at the moment. Semerenko … I wouldn’t say his behavior was extraordinary, he’s always been a very emotional guy, that’s normal for him.

Chaffee accomplished the impossible. He’s definitely won the first bout with Cyplenkov, although no one expected him to get even close to Denis. How do you comment on that? Can we think of Chaffee as the number two in the world, right after Cyplenkov?

I think right now he’s equal to Denis. It would be great to organize an armfight with them both, to see who’s the best, who’s number one.

Artur Grigorian