Anthony Yigit Awaits to Enter the World Stage
The country of Sweden isn’t known for producing professional pugilists.
The country’s most well-known boxer fought primarily in the 1950s in former Heavyweight champion, Ingemar Johannson (26–2, 17 KOs). Johansson is best remembered for his trilogy of fights with Floyd Patterson that resulted in stoppages in all three bouts.
Fairly recently, there have been a few boxers from Sweden that gained championship prominence. Fighters such as former Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion, Badou Jack stand out along with former Female boxing champions Mikaela Lauren and Frida Wallberg.
While Wallberg’s last bout was in 2013, she is the only fighter to have defeated seven-division women’s champion, Amanda Serrano. Wallberg won a unanimous decision over Serrano for the WBC Female Super Featherweight title in April 2012.
The latest boxer out of Sweden to make headlines is 28-year old southpaw, Anthony “Can You Dig It” Yigit (24–1–1, 8 KOs).
Yigit has an extensive amateur pedigree, having participated in numerous tournaments, including winning the 2010 Swedish National Championships and participating in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.
Yigit, like all professional boxers, has felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on his career. At the time the pandemic began to take hold of Europe, Yigit was in Spain with his significant other.
“When they put Spain in quarantine, we decided to fly back to Sweden before they shut down everything,” Yigit said in an exclusive interview with Frontproof Media. “So now we’re back here, and thankfully we’re all doing well.
“The government tells us to be cautious, but what we can do is go to the gym, and we can train in the gym even though officially the gym is closed. But my coach gave me the keys so I can go and train with him. So we’re training one-on-one at the time.”
The sport of professional boxing was banned in Sweden in 1970. It wasn’t until 36-years later in November 2006 where a modified version of the sport was allowed in the country.
Coming from as unique a background as anyone in boxing, Yigit’s family played a major role in him getting into the sport.
“What got me into the sport was, you have to look at my upbringing and my background,” stated Yigit. “So first of all, my mom is half Turkish, half Finnish, and was born and raised in Sweden. My dad is Russian, and he actually came from Russia to Sweden because he didn’t want to get drafted into the Afghan War. They met in Sweden, and I was born and raised in Sweden.
“When I was 12, I moved to Turkey. So I lived there for three years before moving back to Sweden when I was 15. That’s when I started kickboxing, but then I realized I didn’t like kicking. I liked the boxing part. So my father told me that he knew a boxing trainer and that I should see him. So I did.
“Luckily, the boxing trainer was really good at what he was doing in a very small country where boxing isn’t that well known. We don’t have that much knowledge about boxing anymore because all the old-timers from Ingemar Johansson’s time retired or died.”
Yigit began his boxing journey traveling to different parts of Eastern Europe, joining various training camps in amateur clubs to further gain experience. He was able to travel to countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, and Poland to train.
In Moldova, at just 16-years of age, Yigit was able to train with the country’s Olympic Bronze Medalist.
“I was training there with their Olympic Bronze Medalist. I was sparring with these guys, and they were beating me up, “ said Yigit of his training in Moldova. “But what happened was when I came back to Sweden; I realized I’m beating these people up.
“So it’s a tough upbringing, the kind of Spartan upbringing that I could be so well-schooled in the ring.”
As a professional, Yigit has been a real-world traveler having fought in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and once in the United States. The 28-year old Yigit also speaks up to seven languages.
“When I was younger, I could peak Finnish and Arabic, but I forgot these languages because I didn’t practice them,” said the Swedish southpaw. “So I speak Swedish, English, Turkish, German, Russian, Spanish, and Danish.”
The most significant opportunity that Yigit has received thus far in his professional career came in October 2018 as part of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.
He would face off against the then-undefeated Ivan Baranchyk (20–1, 13 KOs) at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the vacant IBF Super Lightweight championship.
In a close back and forth bout filled with plenty of action, Yigit had the unfortunate luck of having his left eye shut, and on the advice of the ringside doctor, the referee put a halt to the match after the seventh round.
While a rematch with Baranchyk isn’t necessarily a fight that Yigit would turn down, winning a world title takes precedence over gaining vengeance.
“I don’t consider that a loss first of all,” said Yigit. “And second of all, I wasn’t after him. I was after the belt. It was the belt at stake, and he doesn’t have it anymore. So I’m not looking backward.”
Yigit may not be looking backward, but he is looking at moving down to the Lightweight division, where he believes he can win a world title.
The Lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in boxing featuring fighters like Vasiliy Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia, and Gervonta Davis, amongst others.
For Yigit, he wants to leave a legacy in boxing that goes beyond wins and losses or world championships.
“I mean, it’s all about getting the memorable fights,” said Yigit. “That’s what I’m all about. Obviously, I want to win the titles, but when you Google some of the biggest fights, you don’t really care about who wins or loses. You just watch them over and over again because they’re printed into history.
“I just want to give the audience a fight like that. And to be able to do that, I need to fight a top contender or a world champion. So I would never back down against someone like Lomachenko or Lopez. That’s what I’m aiming for. I want to fight with these guys.”
The one fighter that Yigit feels would match up best with him is IBF Lightweight champion, Teofimo Lopez.
“I think Teofimo Lopez would be a good fight,” said Yigit. “I like these South American style fighters because I can brawl as well. I like to brawl, and it’s these fights with two brawlers that are usually the memorable ones.
“I’m not only a brawler, but I’m a clever brawler, so I think these guys would fit me quite well.”
Boxing is a sport of timing not just in the ring, but outside of the ring as well.
Having goals and aspirations for pugilists is the norm. What you do once you reach those goals can be just as important.
For many, there is more to boxing than becoming a world champion.
“I mean, it’s a very bold thing to say,” stated Yigit when speaking about his goals inside and outside of the squared circle. “It’s easy to become a world champion in the ring, but it’s harder to behave like a champion outside of the ring. And that’s something I aim to do as well. I want to be not only a champion in boxing; I want to be the people’s champion as well.
“I want to make sure to be a good role model for people. I believe that there is a lot I can both learn from others but also teach to others when it comes to not only boxing but also life in general because I’ve been through so much myself. I like to get to know people. So I think if anything, boxing as a platform is a great opportunity for me to be able to do that.”
The boxing world and the world, in general, may not ever return in the same way we knew it before.
Those who may not have had their opportunity yet or wish to have one more chance to make a name for themselves will be itching to have the spotlight.
Once fights become regularly staged again, Anthony Yigit will be awaiting his chance to get on the world stage.
Featured Photo: Christina Nilsson
Originally published at https://www.frontproofmedia.com on May 4, 2020.