Manvel Gabrielyan. Manvel Gabrielyan and Armen Tonoyan at breakfast with the “capitalist”: “Good people come out of boxing. and good people are the foundation of the country. – We took our family with us

This is a real world sensation: at the boxing school, which is being created in Barnaul by Armen Tonoyan, President of the Federation professional boxing Altai, Manvel Gabrielyan, the legendary coach of the legendary Nikolai Valuev, will work! Manvel Gabrielyan and Armen Tonoyan told Capitalist over breakfast in the hospitable Volna restaurant about themselves, about Valuev, about boxing, about the revival of the legendary boxing club “Smena”, about whether the capital of the world will become the capital of boxing...

- Manvel Oganesovich, how did your friendship with boxing begin? All the boys went and are you in the company?

Gabrielyan: Yes, everyone went, and I went. I was very weak, they beat me in the yard, I come home, cry, and my mom or dad told me: “You go and do something.”

- So, no one came to investigate for you?

Gabrielyan: No.

- Did your dad and mom have anything to do with sports?

Gabrielyan: They were simple workers at a textile factory in Leninakan. Father was good master, made looms, and my mother was a weaver. I only heard in my dreams how she came and how she left. And a factory horn. Remember the buzzer? When I heard it, I knew that now my mother would come home.

Mom didn't want me to take up boxing. Once my bag with sports things was thrown out of the window. She said that this was not good - they would break their nose or do some other damage. I told her in response: “Mom, do you like me that I come home and cry? Why are they beating me in the yard?”

- And when you became a champion, did her attitude change?

Gabrielyan: Then yes, my mother liked it. She said: “Look, my boy is strong.”

- Were your parents proud of you?

Gabrielyan: Yes. Especially when I became the champion of Armenia. It was very difficult to win, there have always been many good boxers, at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, Armenia always took prizes.

In 1974 I became a master of sports. He won the tenth Spartakiad of Armenia. The first numbers in the Armenian team were me and Ashot Avetisyan, the USSR champion. Ashot went to the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, but Valerian Sokolov lost there.

And then I spoke for the Burevestnik society. In Almaty, at the USSR Championship, he won two fights, and lost to the Uzbek Zakirov in the final. His father was a ring judge. I say: “How can you act against two?!” And to me: “Well, the chief judge is yours, an Armenian.” But this does not matter if the referee in the ring is the father of one of the boxers. Indeed, Zakirov hit me with his head in the first round, my father did not give him any reprimand, on the contrary, he began to count the knockdown for me, and I said: “That’s it, I won’t continue any more, I’m withdrawing.” Zakirov took first place, I became second. I have a photograph - I’m standing covered in blood...

This (points to the broken bridge of the nose) is from Zakirov.

-Did you meet him later?

Gabrielyan: There was a tournament in which the teams of Ukraine, Leningrad, Armenia, and Uzbekistan met. And when our team had to fight the Uzbeks, I said to the comrade who was distributing the pairs: “Put me with Zakirov. Put it on, please!” They set it up, I went into the ring and told him: “Father is gone, come on!” I beat him 5:0. When I was awarded the victory, I told him: “Go tell your father hello.”

- He apologized?

Gabrielyan: Certainly. Then we became friends.

- When did you start coaching?

Gabrielyan: I had students when I was a fourth-year student at the Leninakan Pedagogical Institute, Faculty of Physical Education. One student became the USSR champion among teenagers, another took second place. After college, I joined the army, served in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, in Dresden. He performed himself and worked with Viktor Petrovich Ageev, he Main coach, I'm second. I'm 21 years old, I'm a conscript soldier, and I'm a coach! Ageev suggested that I stay with SKA in Germany. He says: “Stay, don’t go.” But I wanted to go home.

In Dresden, I once saw Kharlamov and Mikhailov - they came there for competitions.

After the army I came home and that was it. I became the champion of the city - just so that my students could see. And I've been training ever since.

You have 40 years of coaching experience behind you. From experience, tell me what is the main thing a coach should develop in an athlete?

Gabrielyan: The main thing is to educate. If the guys are educated and understand life correctly, they will study well until the end. And if there is no upbringing, if they have other thoughts on their minds, it’s very difficult with such guys.

- You good coach or evil?

Gabrielyan: I keep myself level. There should be a distance between the coach and the student. If you make friends, there will never be a good boxer. Strictness and properly structured training - this is the only way to achieve results.

I have a lot of students who live in different countries life. I created a whole country, the Soviet Union, they are calling from all sides - from Germany, from America, from St. Petersburg, other cities and countries. I only have a coaching life - nothing else.

- How did you meet Valuev?

Gabrielyan: In 1988 we had an earthquake. Leninakan is destroyed. Life was very difficult. Light was given rarely, for two hours, according to a schedule. They lived like this from year to year. One day they turned on the light, my wife wanted to iron the clothes, and I said: “Put the iron away, let me look at the box!” And it was Valuev who spoke. I say: “What kind of heavyweight is this?” His opponent was 130 kilograms, and he was 130 kilograms. I say: “Gayane, look what a guy! God, give me this guy, let me work with him!”

And in 2000, Leva Kirakosyan, my student, champion of Russia, went to St. Petersburg to train and invited me to join him. I refused, but Leva says: “Not because of me, there’s a heavyweight (heavyweight - approx. "Capitalist") there is a good one, I know that you love heavy ones.” And it was just Valuev.

I love heavyweight boxers, my first student, Artem Ter-Hakopyan, who became the European champion, competed in the 91 kilogram weight category.

On May 15, 2000, I flew to St. Petersburg, and on June 6, he had already scheduled a fight with Elistratov (a fight with Yuri Elistratov (Ukraine) for the Pan-Asian Boxing Association heavyweight title. - Note by “Capitalist”). Valuev already knew about me. It turned out that Leva told Valuev: “Only my coach can prepare you.” Valuev says: “Call your coach.”

- Was it difficult to train Valuev?

Gabrielyan: Nobody could work with him. It is very difficult psychologically and physically. When we started working with him, we practiced punches “on the paws,” and my shoulders hurt from his punches. I cried. Such heavy blows...

- But you can’t tell him - let’s do it half-heartedly...

Gabrielyan: No. Half-heartedly - that’s all, he himself is lost. Then I learned to withstand his blow, I got used to it, and he himself refused to work on his paws. He says: “My hands are already tired.” (Laughs.)

Nikolai is very slow, very kind. Because of this kindness, he missed a lot in boxing. He could demolish everyone in the first minutes. I’m not a fool, I see: if such a mass inflicts such blows, then no one remains alive. But he doesn’t hit: “I’m sorry!” (Laughs) It was impossible to anger him...

- And how did you prepare it?

Gabrielyan: There are methods... During training, I shouted at him, yelled at him, everything was through my nerves. But he respected me very much, told me that I was his second father.

Valuev’s general physical training took place in Armenia, in Tsakhkadzor, in the mountains, altitude 2850 meters. You go down from there and at normal height you will be three times more effective. Kolya really liked this base. All Olympic champions, members of the national team are preparing there. Go there - there is no room there now.

He is as efficient as I have ever seen anywhere. My first student was like this. We trained seven hours a day! Three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening! And there was no such thing that he refused at least one exercise. I gave Nikolai tasks, he completed them carefully, as if he were reciting a poem by heart. And after training he asked me: “Did I miss anything?”

- Did you practically write the score for him for training?

Gabrielyan: Yes. And before the fight, I wrote down each round in my diary: in the first this, in the second this, in the third rest, sixth-fifth - we start again... Valuev is very strong and very inconvenient for his opponent. It's hard to fight him. By the sixth or seventh round, everyone gets tired of fighting him. Such a mass moves in front of you, you become psychologically very tired from this alone. This is a two-story tank. Mammoth. I told him: “You fight calmly, until the eighth round, after the eighth round no one remains alive. And then start boxing.” We have won a lot using this method. That’s what we did in fights with Ruiz, Richard Bango from Nigeria, an Olympic finalist.

During the fight, in between rounds, is there an opportunity to explain something to the boxer? Does he hear anything at this time?

Gabrielyan: He only hears the coach. But you shouldn’t tell him anything new at these moments. Everything must be worked out in training, all the schemes, and during the break you just tell him what scheme he needs to use. If you haven’t taught it, then you can’t demand anything in the ring. If you don’t teach, don’t demand it from him.

Under me, he won 18 fights by knockout, four by points. The last fight with me was the fight with Ruslan Chagaev (Uzbekistan). Valuev lost and we parted ways.

- Do you currently maintain relations with Valuev?

Gabrielyan: Certainly. He always called me after the fight - with Holyfield, Haye - and asked my opinion. We are still in touch.

- Manvel Oganesovich, how did you meet Armen, how did you decide to come to us in Barnaul?

Gabrielyan: Kolya told me about Armen: “If you want to continue training professionally, only with Armen. Only in Barnaul. This man can do everything. To say what kind of school he’s opening now is crazy!”

- Armen, how did you come up with the idea of ​​calling such a high-class coach?

Tonoyan: First of all, it should be noted that we have revived the legendary sport Club"Change". Back in 1983, Vladimir Rubtsov and like-minded people opened the Smena boxing school in this place, from where they eventually came famous champions. I myself was a student of Vladimir Rubtsov. And today I, along with my like-minded people, are giving a second wind to the legendary club in a completely new format. And that’s why we invited Manvel Oganesovich as one of best trainers in boxing throughout the post-Soviet space.

Of course, I saw Manvel Oganesovich on television. Nikolai Valuev told me that there is such a coach: “Armen, I will advise you...” And we also have a mutual friend - Shamir...

Gabrielyan: Shamir Petrosyan from Karabakh - he also told me about Armen...

Tonoyan: And he advised me to call Manvel Oganesovich. In general, everyone told me: “Armen, you won’t find a better coach.” I found out how to contact Manvel Ovanesovich. I called.

Gabrielyan: Just Olympic Games We were in Rio. I say: “My student is performing now. When the Olympics are over, I’ll come.” Artur Hovhannisyan spoke weight category 49 kilograms. He lost to the Spaniard. (Arthur Oganesyan lost to the Spaniard Samuel Carmona. - Note from Capitalist.) Otherwise I would have arrived back in June.

Tonoyan: I had confidence that he would come and start work from scratch. Exactly from scratch. He is now hurrying me: “When will we open the hall? When will we start work? I want to recruit children.” He loves coaching children.

- Tell us what kind of club you are opening...

Tonoyan: This is the legendary sports club “Smena”, I came from there myself. We are in our fifth month of reconstruction there and will open in November. There will be about 150-200 boys studying there.

- Manvel Oganesovich, will you be the head coach of this school?

Gabrielyan: Armen said so. I love this business. In my 40 years of experience, this will probably be the third school. It takes five years to put a school on a good foundation.

- So, you’re joining us for five years – is that for sure?

Gabrielyan: I want it even longer. Previously, Barnaul was a very boxing city, but now, it seems to me, something needs to change. I should say thank you to Armen - he opens such a hall at his own expense. Over my 40 years of experience, I have been in different countries of the world, in different halls. But I have never seen such a hall as here, such equipment for boxing.

Coming out of boxing good people. And good people are the foundation of the country.

Tonoyan: Our boxing school will have four coaches. Sergey Gordeev, Dmitry Naumov, Dmitry Vtornikov, and head coach Manvel Oganesovich. He will guide and teach our coaches. Although they themselves have experience, they want to work with him.

- Is it possible to raise a boxing champion in Barnaul?

Gabrielyan: Certainly. Certainly. I feel that in two years boxing here will greatly improve. There will be competition between coaches.

- Armen, do you watch Manvel Oganesovich’s training?

Tonoyan: Certainly. It is very interesting. I saw a lot of new things for myself. He's a professional. He organizes the training in such a way that I already want to get into the ring. He says: “Armen, why are you just walking around? Come on, get changed and come with us.” I answer him: “I decided for myself that until I open my own gym, I will not train. As soon as I open it, I’ll start walking.”

Gabrielyan: He will train, I know. Will help my weights, stand in pairs. He is a master of sports in boxing, and I need guys like that!

Tonoyan: Now Dmitry Sukhotsky and two brothers, Leon and Vladimir Antonyan, are training with Manvel Oganesovich. They are preparing for battle. Dmitry has a fight in China with an American on December 4th. The Antonyan brothers will perform at the Coliseum on December 1. Nikolai Sergeevich Valuev will come to this tournament. Manvel Oganesovich will hold him on his paws in our hall...

- Manvel Oganesovich, you trained with Valuev seven hours a day. What about our guys?

Gabrielyan: Also long training sessions - six to six and a half hours. While they are young, while they get used to it, they can do heavy loads. I'm adding it little by little.

- With each new student you start, it turns out, from scratch. What are you doing?

Gabrielyan: You look at what he has and what he doesn’t. You have to get into his soul to some extent. I came here, on the second day I already want to see these guys. They tell me: “Rest, recover, acclimatize.” I say: “At least get to know each other.”

- How do you like our guys?

Gabrielyan: Very nice, very well-mannered. Only Dima Sukhotsky - they told me a little about him, I lead not only the educational and training part with him, but also psychological preparation. I want to understand him from the inside. He last Stand lost, after that it’s very difficult to box with a good opponent. It’s very difficult for Dima to get up psychologically. It is functional, with good character, but something is broken. But I can't figure out what. We need to find the roads along which he should approach this battle.

- But there are no boxers without defeats, somehow they cope...

Gabrielyan: Dima has 27 fights, two of them defeats. This good boxer. Therefore, we need to restore him, raise him so that he performs well. Sukhotsky and I have already come into contact quite deeply. Although there is still a distance between us.

- Do coaches have a magic word that must be said to the athlete at the right time?

Gabrielyan: It depends on what coach, what experience.

- And you?

Gabrielyan: You give everything to your student. I have a rule: give everything to your student, then there will be a return. The coach who trained me as a child came into the gym in a suit. For ten years I have never seen him in sports uniform. Therefore, his students achieved the highest thing they could achieve – the title of master of sports. Twice in ten years he seconded me - at the republican championship and at the city championship. But he always loved to show himself.

A coach shouldn't be like that. The coach must be with his student from morning to evening. Know all its sides.

- Do you have a diary again, do you write down all your workouts again?

Gabrielyan: Certainly. What will you do in the morning, what in the afternoon, what in the evening. You come to the gym, and you have to know what you're going to do. If you come to the hall and say to a student: “Well, what are we going to do today?” - that’s it, you are no longer a coach for him. I know this from the example of my coach. He came into the hall in a suit and said: “Come on, put on gloves and bags!” I'm already tired of this "on bags" thing. If a coach does not work purposefully, then his student will not achieve anything.

Tonoyan: I thought, I suspected that it would come new coach, new blood, and will pour in new life. But, to be honest, I didn’t even imagine that it would be to such an extent. He is such a professional in his field... There are still two months before the fight, but the guys already have everything planned until the fight itself. All workouts are scheduled minute by minute.

This is such professionalism... I haven’t seen this in our coaches for sure. Maybe someday it will be, they will learn from Manvel Oganesovich, young coaches whom he will train, how to train.

- Manvel Oganesovich, your temperament, boiling, how do you maintain it?

Gabrielyan: The most important thing in my work is routine! Plans, results, everything I have achieved in life, all thanks to the first number in my practice - regime!

- And what is your regime?

Gabrielyan: Sleep on time. Over forty years of coaching, I’m used to getting up at 6:30-7 o’clock. And here I stand the same way. The first days I couldn’t wake up - maybe the air is cleaner here, in Siberia. And now it’s normal - at seven o’clock I’m already on my feet.

- What else?

Gabrielyan: Not to drink. No smoking. Participate in all training sessions. Here we are talking - I’ll go to training from here. Live with it! If you live with this, you will achieve results even at eighty years old.

- Do you do any exercises during the day for your health? Maybe you have your own personal training?

Gabrielyan: Certainly. When I worked with Valuev, I trained myself before each of his training sessions. Forty minutes, for yourself. So that I'm ready for training. If I stand sleepily in front of my students, this will be transmitted, they will also fall asleep. This morning they came, and I had already finished my workout. They looked, and they themselves began to want to work. They see that I take this seriously...

- Do you want to make Barnaul the boxing capital of Russia?

Gabrielyan: Yes I want to. I want to achieve results. Therefore, I want to invite everyone, both adults and children, purposeful and ambitious, to our sports club “Smena” at Lenin Avenue, 43a.

Tonoyan: There has always been good school boxing But modern world dictates new conditions. And we have a chance to go absolutely new level. And I am sure that with Manvel Oganesovich we will achieve this.

Breakfasts with Capitalist are again held at the Volna restaurant. What can you do - autumn! It's almost winter already! Come to Volna - it’s delicious and family-like! At lunch - business lunches. Restaurant address - Barnaul, pl. Bavarina, 2. Tel.: 8 (385-2) 573-231 or 65-38-66. Website - parus-volna.ru

Interview of Yaroslav Makhnachev for “Evening Barnaul” with a coach, posted on championship fight the legendary Nikolai Valuev.

For now, Manvel Oganesovich is working with our professional boxers. On December 1, a new boxing gym “Smena” will open in Barnaul, after which Gabrielyan will begin training children. He is delighted with Barnaul and his new job - emotionally, with a unique Armenian accent and flavor, he talks about his plans.

– Armen Tonoyan invited me to Barnaul ( Head of the Professional Boxing Federation of the Altai Territory. As Tonoyan says, Valuev himself proposed the candidacy of a coach for the new gym with the wording “Manvel will take Altai boxing to a new level – Note auto). Back in June, he called and I asked to wait - my student Arthur Oganesyan was supposed to compete at the Olympics in Rio. I say: “Gatherings, preparation, I can’t. Armen-jan, wait a little.” And the Olympics ended, I flew here to work as a coach. Barnaul has always been famous for boxing. It’s somehow calmed down lately, what is it? Let's help. While I am training professionals - the Antonyan brothers, Dmitry Sukhotsky, Yuri Kashinsky - a noble guy, I train with pleasure. Training is at 8.00, he’s already here at 7.30 - how can you not work with him?

– Sukhotsky is our most experienced professional. What does he lack for big victories?

– After several failures, he cannot come to his senses. It seems to be preparing well, but again it goes unevenly. Like over bumps. But I think everything should return to normal.

How is working with amateurs different from working with professionals?

– Manvel Oganesovich, you are mainly known as Valuev’s coach. What happened in your biography before and after it?

– Before Valuev, I had good students in Armenia, I introduced Kolya to them. For example, Artem Terakopyan was a master of sports at the age of 17 international class Soviet Union. I almost didn’t make it to the Olympics in Seoul - I beat the number one of the national team and was supposed to go there, but it so happened that I couldn’t. Kole always said: “Learn from him.” I had champions of the Union and Armenia. And after working with Nikolai, I went home again, worked with the children - and now I brought a student to the Olympics.

– Are you communicating with Valuev now?

- Certainly. And he also told me about Barnaul, he said, if you go, you won’t regret it.

– Can working with amateurs and professionals be compared?

– It’s harder to train amateurs. Three rounds of three minutes, you don’t know your opponents. Moreover, fights are poorly judged. In the professionals, you prepare a student for a specific opponent, there will be 12 rounds, something can be corrected.

– And after professional boxing with amateurs, isn’t it boring?

- No. It’s the same boxing, but you prepare differently. And we need to plan our work. When a coach doesn’t know what he will do tomorrow, what kind of coach is he?

– Are you a tough teacher?

- I love severity. It helps. If you are kind, there will be no result. My rule: if you miss two workouts, that’s it. Whoever you are. Even Arthur Oganesyan, when he missed a lesson, said – that’s it, there’s only one thing left. But I also like to joke.

We will definitely find another Valuev

– How do you like our snowfalls?

- Oh, I liked it so much. I walked and walked. Love Winter. I was in Tomsk, I was in Omsk, I was in Irkutsk.

- And in Barnaul?

– Not myself, but my friend, Samvel Bagdasaryan, took part in competitions here in 1972, and lost in the final to your Sergei Dvilis. He later showed me photographs, I liked the city. And I love frosts too, I look forward to them.

– Did you take your family with you?

– No, my son and daughter live with their families. My wife died two years ago. She loved Kolya very much and fed him. He even wrote about her in his book about how delicious she cooks.

– Did you plan how long you were in Barnaul?

- Only God knows. I can't decide for myself. I want to give results. European and world champions and Olympic participants will appear, then we can leave. I want another Valuev to appear, only now from Siberia. There will be a set of children - we will definitely find one.

Information from “Evening Barnaul”:

On December 1, a new boxing gym “Smena” will open at Lenin Ave., 43a. It will feature children's (including social, free) and adult groups. The head coach of the gym will be Manvel Gabrielyan. Nikolai Valuev will come to the opening of the hall. By the way, in this room for a long time There was a boxing gym with the same name; it closed 15 years ago. In the evening of the same day, the traditional tournament “Great Fight in the Great Altai” will be held at the Opera bar-restaurant; in the main fight of the evening, Yuri Kashinsky and Andrey Knyazev from Voronezh will compete for the titles of champion of Russia and the CIS.

Tale from Manvel:

– A few years ago, he appeared in Siberia big Foot. And for some reason, Kolya was chosen to look for him. They say they looked at the footprints - the legs match. I then told Kolya: “If you find him, don’t touch him. Tell him: why are you lying around in the forest, let’s go to Manvel to train.”

McCline has apparently already been taken to pieces?

But what about?! How many of his fights have you watched! A strong but monotonous boxer. Of course, Nikolai has not met for a long time with those who are almost as tall as him in height and weight.

Valuev has said more than once that it is easier for him to fight with big boxers. Do you think this is really true?

Yes, that's exactly what he says. The little ones are soon running around the ring once, hiding twice. They’ll crawl under Kolya’s armpit and it’s hard for him to bend over. Now we are already used to it, but with big ones everything is equally easier. In sparring they checked Kolya Dobro feels on the same level as his opponent. We prepared for this, used new exercises. By the way, they say it’s impossible to add thirty after that. But Kolya is improving! In sharpness, for example. I think Nikolai’s is amazing, considering his height and weight. We worked for a very long time on the rigidity of the blow, and today I see: it is there!

You once promised that in this fight we will see a new Valuev. What will be new?

I will not say. Should I open the battle project in advance?

They say your predictions are 9095 percent accurate.

There is such an activity. Only I'm not clairvoyant. I just know boxers and their capabilities very well.

In this case, our readers want to have information in which round will Valuev end up fighting?

Don't know! The only thing I can say is that the fight will not be long, but very difficult.

Why short?

It seems so to me. More precisely, I want it that way. But what will happen in reality... I believe in victory, but in which round it will take place, in the third or ninth, it is not so significant. When others fight, I often guess. This is what happened with Maskaev in Moscow. True, I missed the round.

OH, I WOULD FIGHT AT HOME

Do you agree that boxing is now smaller and the opponents are no longer the same?

Rivals, you say? Do you think that Ruiz is not a strong opponent? Of all the champions and challengers recent years Ruiz, in my opinion, is quite sturdy. He defeated Holyfield, Golota, who didn’t he defeat? John is a nasty boxer, but a warrior. No one could achieve victory against him, only Valuev!

But recently Chagaev removed Ruiz without question...

Chagaev is also a powerful boxer, and he won the fight with Ruiz cleanly. Nikolai and I then went to Dusseldorf and watched their fight. Maybe the US citizen underestimated Ruslan, prepared poorly. Everything is the same, I think Ruiz was a difficult opponent, whom we removed. In general, you are right, at the moment there is no one who is head and shoulders above others. All are average, of the same level.

Tell me, could Valuev be able to resist Lewis or Tyson?

Who can know this? Tyson was the best in his native time, Lewis in his native time, the greatest Mohammed Ali to my native place. And at the moment it’s time for Valuev. Times change; they cannot be combined or compared. This doesn't only apply to boxing. Everyone argues until they are hoarse about who is stronger than Pchut or Maradona.

Has Nikolai ever boxed in Switzerland?

Oh, I wish I could fight at home! In Moscow, and even more so in St. Petersburg, it would be much better. The stands are there for you, and that’s half the victory.

Switzerland is not a home for Nikolai. But McCline, a US citizen, is not at all a stranger there. Are you counting on the support of the audience?

Certainly! And who knows these Swiss? This is not a boxing country.

Nikolai says that during the fight the stands do not exist for him and that victory must be forged with his own hands, and not at the throats of the audience.

He says it right! Victory is achieved through hard work. And if you add a little bit of luck...

I would like to wish you and Nikolai good luck on behalf of the readers of Soviet Sports.

Thank you, we really need it!