Arthur Biyarslanov will take on a card for the first time in his career on Thursday when he faces the late replacement Tamas Kiliti at the Montreal Casino, Montreal.
Biyarslanov, who last captured the NABF junior welterweight title, is looking to build on that momentum and get himself into the world title picture in the near future.
Although the change in opponent from veteran Marcos Villasana Jr. is not ideal, he takes it in his stride.
“This is just another fight for me, I usually prepare for every fight, I train the same, I train hard and want to put on a good performance,” Biyarslanov (15-0, 13 knockouts) told The Ring. “The opponent may change, but the goal remains the same.”
Now a Canadian citizen, Biyarslanov has come a long way since he first moved to Canada in 2007.
“I was born in Makhachkala, Dagestan because of the 1995 war with Chechnya,” he explained. “We came back to Chechnya after the war and stayed for four years, then the second Cold War started in 1999/2000 and that’s when I moved to Azerbaijan and we lived there for about six years before coming to Canada.
“I came here when I was young, so for me it was easy for me to adapt and I learned the language very quickly. As I got older, I could tell the difference. Every country has its own way of life. I am based in Canada and I have lived here for almost 20 years. I’m used to it now.”
He initially played football and intended that this would be his chosen path. However, things turned out quite differently.
“I started about three years after I came to Canada,” he said of his first attempt at boxing. “My brother kind of forced me into it, he wanted me to learn boxing and self-defense. I was a big soccer player. I thought one day I was going to be a footballer, but here I am a boxer.”
He went on to enjoy a highly successful amateur career that culminated in him representing his adopted home country at the 2016 Olympics.
“It was amazing, it’s the biggest step you can get,” he said of his appearance at the showcase event. “I was the only male Canadian to qualify. I think I had one of the best amateur careers in the four years from 2013/17.
“I went to three world championships, where I got bronze twice. I went to Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games, Olympics. I feel in those four years I did the maximum I could. I only had 98 fights, I did a lot in those fights. I think it was the perfect timing to turn professional.”
Biyarslanov made his debut in his hometown of Toronto with a first round knockout over Ernesto Cardona in December 2018.
Although he was able to fight, his activity suffered noticeably, and he ended up fighting only twice a year from 2020 to 2023.
Arthur Biyarslanov – Photo by Vincent Ethier
“When I first started my professional career it was a bit difficult because Covid started right after that in 2020 and it set me back and the companies didn’t have many fights. But here with Eye of the Tiger they are active,” he explained. “I think they have shows every month, and I fight a lot, which is what I need. I need to be active, I need to get more fights to get to that world level.
“I’m sure with Eye of the Tiger they’ll get me there. They keep me very active, this is my third fight in less than six months. That’s what I needed, and now they’re putting me in as the main event, which is great – it’s amazing.”
While Biyarslanov has the NABF title, that is not the extent of his aspirations.
“I want to fight for a world title by next summer,” he said. “Hopefully two or three more fights, if I get the right fights and the big fights and if I perform. That’s my goal when I’m 30 years old, I want to be world champion, which is just around the corner.
“Each belt is a different champion in my weight class, so to be honest it doesn’t really matter as long as I get a shot.”
Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger believes Biyarslanov is a great addition to the already talent-laden junior welterweight division.
“Artur is a very serious athlete,” Estephan said. “His work ethic and strength has been compared to (IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight titleholder Artur) Beterbiev by his strength coach André Kulesza (who works with both.) His boxing abilities are excellent so the plan is to fast track him, he looks to to be ready to defy the elite.”
Kiliti (10-0, 6 KOs) turned professional in 2019 in his native Hungary, where all his fights have taken place. In his most recent outing, he pointed out Miguel Antin (UD 8) in May. This is a noticeable step up in class for him.
Biyarslanov-Kiliti, plus undercard bouts, will air on ESPN+ at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT and on punchinggrace.com in Canada.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at (email protected).
