“So, the panic started, everyone started running around and next thing I know, soldiers are carrying me, running and asking me, what’s your name?”
His name is Arthur Biyarslanov.
The Russian-Canadian professional boxer continued: “That was during the second Cold War, I think it was 1999, 2000. Around this time, I was about four years old and we wanted to leave the country and they weren’t allowing men to leave.
“So my mum went to leave to get to a safer zone and we were on our way to Azerbaijan, a country close by where we ended up living for six years.
“At one point we were at the border and that’s where the shooting and everything started happening. I still have flashbacks of that moment because it was really scary.”
Biyarslanov started life as a toddler, dodging and ducking bullets and being thrown from soldier to soldier, all for a chance at a better life.
“I don’t remember how long they were carrying me. I just remember that they would run with me and when they got tired they would toss me on to the next soldier running beside them.
“These people were taking us to a safe zone where there’s no shooting and stuff. I don’t know how long it took us, how many days it took us to get to where we wanted to go, but it’s just this moment that I have in my mind that I remember. That’s all I remember from that moment.”
It was in this frenzied moment that not only was a new life born but also his moniker.
“My father used to always tell me, ‘Be like the Chechen wolf. Someone asks who you are, tell ’em you’re a Chechen wolf.’ And in the moment when the soldiers asked who I was, I was like, ‘I’m Chechen wolf!’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we can’t let the Chechen wolf die.’”
The undefeated Super Lightweight spent six years in Azerbaijan before relocating to Canada in 2005. School can be tough for any 10-year-old, even tougher when you’re the odd one out.
“When you’re a kid you always get some people trying to pick on you, especially if you don’t know the language. I had a lot of that in Canada when I first came. I was in grade four. My real name is Movladdin so some people tried to make fun of my name. But, I was a bit different. I would go after them in recess.
“My brother, he was always into fighting sports. He kind of forced me into boxing. The reason why I say forced is because I never had an interest in boxing or any of the combat sports.
“And when we first came to Canada he used to get a lot of fights because the mentality is different where we’re from, so he was getting into a lot of fights and then he said, ‘You know what? You need to start boxing too for self-defence. You have to learn how to defend yourself properly if you get into fights.’ Then he kind of just forced me into it.
“I hated it the first year, maybe the first two years, because boxing is a sport where you just can’t be good overnight. And every other sport that I played I was good at it. When I started boxing I would always spar with guys that had experience and these guys would out-jab me or out-punch me and I just hated it.
“Eventually, I got better and better and I wanted to get my revenge on the people that used to spar me. I started getting my revenge.
“The enjoyment part came when I started winning fights when I went to tournaments. It was fun because we would go with our team, and that adrenaline rush was something else. Every time we go to fight somewhere, it was just that little nervousness, that fun field trip that you would have with the team, the fighting feelings and then the victory feeling every time you win, everyone praises you, ‘Oh, you did well.’
“And then at school, everyone is scared of you because they know you’re a fighter, you’re undefeated and when you’re young those things are kind of important for you because you want to be among the cool kids.
“So I kind of paid a lot of attention to that and that gave me the motivation to keep boxing to get better and better and that’s what kept me going in the beginning.”
The Toronto resident went from fighting for his life to fighting for a better life as he prepares for his 18th professional bout against Mohamed Mimoune on February 6 at Montreal Casino.
“I first met him when I came to Montreal in 2018. We trained in the same gym back then. I think he came for a camp. At that time I wasn’t even a pro, so I didn’t know much about him. And ever since then, we’ve been following each other on Instagram and once in a while write to each other, like each other’s posts and stuff.
“I think this will be a really good step up fight and a good experience for me. I mean, he’s known in the boxing world. He’s fought Viktor Postol, he’s fought some other good fighters and he’s never been stopped.
“So he shows he’s tough and boxing at that level, he already knows what it’s like. He’s done many 10 rounders. So for me, it would be really good to test myself to see where I am, if I’m at the world championship level or not, because he’s been there, he’s fought there.
“I think he was an IBO world champion. So I’m just happy for the opportunity. I hope it turns out well, but I’ll be ready for this fight.
“Everyone wants a knockout win. I want the knockout too. It would be a big statement for me because he’s never been stopped at the highest level. But like boxers always say, it’s not good to look for the knockout, let it come by itself. So we’ll see what happens in the ring.”
Within the four walls of a boxing gym, there is no race, creed, sexuality, or nationality, just a group of people there for one thing: to fight.
The gym is a place where the man from Makhachkala, Dagestan, is not alone. He is joined by a special fellow Russian for his training camp – Artur Beterbiev.
“To train along with Artur is a big inspiration. I first met him in 2012 or 13, when me and my brother came to Montreal just to see him. My brother was a big-time follower of boxing, so he knew him from long before and that was the first time we met him.
“I moved to Montreal in 2018 to start training with the team. Back then he wasn’t a world champion, but he trains today the same way he was training back then, meaning he was always training hard and he was serious and just so sharp-minded.
“I never cheated in training. I always give a hundred per cent and just having people around like him kind of reminds you to keep training hard, keep doing what you’re doing and eventually you’ll get to where you want to get. And I hope one day I could become a world champion and be a unified world champion like Artur Beterbiev.”
To become a world champion is the ambition of a fighter, but, to be a world title holder, you need to be mentally strong. It’s more than being in the gym twice a day. It’s more than abs and jabs. You must have self-confidence.
“Everyone has to believe. If you want to be a world champion, you have to think as if you are already a world champion. It’s just a matter of time. You get that opportunity. I know Eye of The Tiger [Management] will give me this opportunity because I see the way they work with other fighters, they give a lot of fighters opportunities, so they’re taking me to the right steps.
“I just need to show myself and perform and performance will come from proper training, not cheating and giving a hundred per cent. And I know that I always give a hundred per cent. I train hard. I am away from my family. So I sacrificed a lot of things for this fight.”
Biyarslanov candidly signed off. “I wish Mohamed all the best. I hope he’s training hard and looking forward to the fight.”
