The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has named Azerbaijan’s Albert Selimov as its Boxer of the Month for April.

Selimov enjoyed a terrific month in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) as the Lightweight (60 kg) finished second in the rankings with a perfect 6-0 record across the Regular Season of Season V.

Selimov’s career in AOB events

Albert Selimov was born in Kaspiysk, a city in the Dagestan region of the Russian Federation in 1986.

He started his international boxing career in 2004 when he took part in the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Jeju, Korea, while he won his first national elite title in Russia in 2006 when he was only 20.

Later that year he took part in the European Continental Championships in Plovdiv in 2006 and walked away with a gold medal at the Featherweight class (57 kg).

One of his career highlights occurred a year later when he claimed the gold medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in 2007 when he defeated Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko in the final of the event.

After causing one of the very few defeats of Lomachenko’s AOB career, he then lost to his Ukrainian rival in the opening round of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The last few years has seen the the boxer focus more on WSB, but he is a fighter to look out for ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Selimov’s performance in the World Series of Boxing

Albert Selimov became involved in WSB in 2013 when he joined Azerbaijan Baku Fires, and he has since become one of the best boxers in the Lightweight class (60 kg).

This season he has defeated tough opponents like Kazakhstan’s two-time National Champion Zakir Safiullin, while he last beat US boxer Carlos Balderas with the victory earning him a Rio 2016 Olympic place subject to selection from his National Federation.

Selimov speaks

“I was number one in my weight class in Russia for eight years, but there was a time in 2012 when I felt that I had to change something. I travelled to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to win the gold medal but my first opponent Vasyl Lomachenko defeated me. I missed the qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and then I decided to change my method and trainings. I tried to learn from my previous losses, and to develop and avoid further mistakes, which was the most important factor of my success to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”

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