Don’t be fooled by the baby-face or the soft, gentle voice. Former IBF 140lbs champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs)is ferocious, both in the gym and between the ropes. After losing his world title, the man from Belarus regrouped and has continued chipping away behind the scenes with Cuban maestro Pedro Diaz.
On Saturday night, Baranchyk meets California’s Jose Zepeda in the MGM Grand’s Covid-19 protected ‘Bubble’ in a fight that should determine one of the super-lightweight division’s next top contenders. Baranchyk, speaking to Boxing Social from his home in Miami, can’t wait to headline the card.
“I’m very excited. I haven’t had a fight for exactly one year and I’m hungry. I’m really, really hungry and I am ready to fight him now. I will try to stop Zepeda, knock him out, of course, that’s my style of boxing,” the 27-year-old explained.
“The training has been good. We’ve had no problems during camp. I trained the entire time [throughout Covid-19]; it was Pedro and myself. It’s the best; he is the best trainer. Pedro is very good; he’s young and I just love to train with him and the other guys. I’ve been working with him for two years now. I feel good, I feel better than ever. I’ve got more power now and I’m more technical. I’m thinking more tactically, so I’m ready to come back.”
Diaz, the Cuban trainer, has built an exciting stable and a burgeoning reputation at his Team Mundo facility in Miami consisting of guys like Alexis Angulo, Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic and Chinese WBA 126lbs champion, Xu Can. It came as no surprise that Baranchyk thought so highly of him, although he wasn’t the trainer of choice (or even identified as a potential coach) when ‘The Beast’ originally landed in the USA.
Baranchyk arrived on his own, clutching his passport and luggage containing his training equipment. He told Boxing Social this transition was “really easy”, despite not speaking fluent English at the time, and moving without his wife in order to firstly settle in.
“I moved to America because of the opportunity,” he said. “There was far more opportunity in the United States for me and I moved over here by myself. I didn’t have a good coach back home in Belarus, so I had to move here. After a short time, I brought my wife and we lived together after that. It was easy. Really easy. I want to stay here [in America] forever. Especially here in Miami, with the beach and the ocean. Things are good here and I love it.”
Now, as well as Diaz, his team consists of successful boxing manager and strategist David McWater, who also represents the uniquely talented Teofimo Lopez. A second bite at the cherry seems inevitable for Baranchyk, especially considering his age and supreme conditioning. Hopefully, his hard work and constant need for improvement don’t go unnoticed.
Reflecting on his early life before his decision to chase the ‘American Dream’, Baranchyk explained, “I was born in Russia, a place called Amursk. But I lived and grew up in Belarus. I was always interested in sports. It’s been my whole life, becoming involved in sport. I started in jiu-jitsu before boxing, but I don’t train anymore. I did that between age six and 12. Then, my friend took me to the boxing gym for the first time and that was it. Boxing became my favourite sport.”
It was his introduction to a global boxing audience through Comosa’s World Boxing Super Series that resulted in Baranchyk’s first world title. He squared off against Anthony Yigit in New Orleans and the bout was halted after a hideous eye injury suffered by the Swede in the seventh round.
A trip to Glasgow followed in the tournament’s semi-final and the Belarusian’s team were confident of glory. Baranchyk and Scotland’s now-unified world champion Josh Taylor stood opposite one another; it was the former who looked in physically imposing condition. His muscles had muscles and he was ready to defend his belt on foreign soil.
“It was a great experience for me; fighting in the WBSS and fighting Josh Taylor,” he said. “I lost my IBF title and I needed to continue fighting. It was a little bit hard coming back from that defeat, but after a week I was back in training and, listen, this is boxing. Now, my plan is to rematch Taylor and to win my title back.”
Time is the greatest healer and, 17 months down the line, Baranchyk begins his climb back to world title contention. The division is congested with a potential undisputed clash between Taylor and fellow, unified champion Jose Ramirez being mooted, alongside mandatory challengers circling, smelling blood and the chance to make history. But Baranchyk’s end goal remains crystal clear: “This is still my dream. Becoming world champion again is my dream. I want to do it soon – and I will.”