THERE will be a new face in the corner of Sultan Zaurbek tonight.
The unbeaten Kazakh super-featherweight returns to the ring in Bolton against Argentinian opponent Roman Ruben Reynoso live on Channel 5. Zaurbek had previously been working with Scottish trainer Billy Nelson but has now enlisted the services of Manny Robles, with whom he will be working in America.
Zaurbek, 17-0 (12 KOs), has looked the goods and has been levels above his opposition as he nears the 20-fight mark of a career which began on October 26, 2018 at York Hall against Jose Aguilar. And while the talented southpaw is ranked number five with the WBA, Robles remained cautious on his hopes for the 28-year-old. Despite his position in the WBA rankings, Zaurbek is yet to face anyone that would be deemed a worthy adversary, so how far away is he from facing someone in the top 15 at 130lbs?
“I mean, he’s almost there,” Robles tells Boxing News.
“That’s the reason why he came to America, to try to get to the next level. There’s loads of sparring out here. We get fighters from all walks of life, from all over the world, different styles, different countries, different looks. So, I think that’s going to make him a better fighter.
“And obviously, with the work that we put in as coaches in the gym, we want to put him in uncomfortable situations in the gym, in sparring. I’ve had a couple of experiences with him where he’s sparring, and I ask him today, we’re going 10 rounds. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. We’re going eight rounds, we’re going 10 rounds.
“Today, you’re going with so-and-so. You’ve got three different sparring partners, and you’re going 10 rounds.This is what you need to go through. As you well know, fights are not going to get any easier. We want to get to the next level. He has to work as a next-level fighter.”
Zaurbek is unbeaten in 17 starts (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
In their time spent together so far in 2024 Robles describes Zaurbek as “humble,” “disciplined” and has a good work ethic and it is that final characteristic that his new fighter must maintain to ensure Robles gets the best out of him.
The Mexican trainer has seen a plethora of fighters come and go in his career. Having worked with the likes of Reggie Johnson, Oscar Valdez, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Michael Conlan, Andy Ruiz, and more, he knows what he is looking for. In June 2019, he trained Ruiz to one of the biggest heavyweight upsets of all time when he toppled Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden to become the unified world champion.
In the current climate at Zaurbek’s weight class, there are four world champions: Emanuel Navarrete, Anthony Cacace, O’Shaquie Foster and Lamont Roach. Oscar Valdez is nearing another world title opportunity and former featherweight champions Leigh Wood and Raymond Ford have moved up to join the action.
“World champions are world champions for a reason,” says Robles.
“Every weight class, you have your world champions, you have your top contenders, and as you’re moving up in the ranks, fights are not going to get any easier. They’re not going to get any easier for Sultan. And I would imagine, I’m guessing that’s the reason why he’s training with us in the US. Because they’re not going to get any easier.
“They’re going to get harder. So that’s what I want to install in his brain. Sultan needs to know that, hey, listen, they’re not going to get easier. They’re going to get harder. And you know the saying, you win your fights in the gym. So that’s exactly what we’re trying to teach him, is to become a better fighter. Not just a tougher, rougher fighter, but also to learn techniques, to learn different things. Learn how to fight on the inside, for example. Go to the body and chop wood and break a fighter down. And just bring that dog out of him. And still be, I want him to be aggressive, but I want him to have control of aggression. I don’t want him to stop having his attributes and being a good technical fighter.
“I don’t want him to stop using that. But I just want him to be more determined.”