Radivoje Kalajdzic is a man who loves his work.
The fighter they call “Hot Rod” is living his best life, even coming off a hard-fought August 3 loss to David Morrell.
While Kalajdzic felt he deserved more credit on the scorecards in Los Angeles, the St. Petersburg, Florida, resident is hoping his performance was strong enough to land him another big fight.
“Well, I enjoy this,” said Kalajdzic, asked of his continued motivation. “I enjoy sparring, fighting. I do everything. So once I lose a love for it, I’m going to retire. But it’s like a job for me, but a job that I love. It’s putting food, putting money on the table, and food for my family. So like I said, I’m boxing and fighting, and I’m getting paid for it, so I can’t complain.”
The married father of three – two girls and a boy aged nine, six and five –has put himself in the frame for a fight with David Benavidez later this year, and he clearly has plenty of respect for the “Mexican Monster.”
“Yeah, I feel like he throws his punches good, he’s very fast,” admitted the Serbian native. “I feel like he has a really good inside game, but I feel like Caleb Plant showed the first five, six rounds that he can be outboxed. But eventually, Plant got tired, and then Benavidez started planning his game. Regardless, it’s gonna be a good fight, if me and him fight.”
Benavidez is coming off a points’ win over a tough and conditioned Ukrainian former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June. It was a tougher fight than many felt it might have been. Did that mean that Benavidez might not be the same force at 175 as he was at super middleweight, or was it a matter of Gvozdyk having more left than many believed he did?
“Well, Gvozdyk, he’s got maybe plenty [left],” said ‘Hot Rod.’ “I don’t know if he has plenty left. Maybe he does, but he [Gvozdyk] has a great amateur experience. He’s fought so many professional fighters and he got experience, and he knew how to weather the storm, stay calm. And after Benavidez kind of punched himself out, Gvozdyk started coming back. I mean, even Gvozdyk was beating [Artur] Beterbiev, I think like [until] the ninth, 10th rounds. It was a close fight, but I think Gvozdyk was up. But like I said, Beterbiev will eventually get you tired and slow you down. That pressure for 12 rounds, it’s just, it’s hard to deal with. And if he dealt that with Beterbiev, Benavidez is nowhere a monster or puncher like Beterbiev.”
If Kalajdzic has plenty of respect for Benavidez, he oozes it for Beterbiev, who is the only man to stop him. They have sparred before, too, and Beterbiev bested him over five rounds in 2019 becoming the only man to stop Kalajdzic in his 32-fight career.
“What I see him do to people in sparring is just crazy,” the 33-year-old adds. “He just, you know, he won’t even throw punches that much in two, three rounds, and people are just gassed out just because he’s just in front of your face and just doesn’t stop coming. Just his presence, his pressure. He’s the real deal.”
Kalajdzic also believes Beterbiev will be victorious in the showpiece October fight in Riyadh when Beterbiev bids to unify the titles at 175 against Dmitriy Bivol.
“I think Arthur Beterbiev will [win],” predicted Kalajdzic. “Just because of his strength, his aggression, and he’s a very good boxer, even though he brawls and he hits hard. He breaks you down round by round, he just sucks the soul out of you, you could say.
“I sparred him plenty of times, and even in a fight, it’s like I was training with him in a fight, and so he doesn’t hit that hard, but he just breaks you down and just gets you tired, and eventually he’s going to stop you and break you.”
Does Kalajdzic think the unification fight will deliver on the hype and expectation?
“Well, every fight that Beterbiev has, it’s damn near fight of the year. He makes you fight his fight, so it’s really going to be interesting to see if Bivol can stay away from him for 12 rounds.”
Kalajdzic hopes he will be back in the mix with a significant name before the end of the year. He’d also happily travel to the UK, to fight its leading lights at light heavyweight, including the likes of Anthony Yarde. He knows he would likely be written off again, but he doesn’t mind. He is comfortable with his experiences and his improvements.
“I just know the skills that I have and ever since that Beterbiev fight, as you look at the Beterbiev fight and now, how much sharper and better I am as a fighter and how I think more,” he said. “Over time, my coach and I developed my fight game and made a good game plan.
“I learned so much and I’m just such a calm fighter. And for the people that say, they talk about it and say this and that, I’m doing something I love and I’m getting paid good money for it. So, I couldn’t care less what they say.
“I’m willing to fight anybody. As you see I fought Beterbiev. Then I fought David Morrell when nobody wanted to fight him. I’m willing to fight anybody, why not? I mean that’s why I’m boxing.”
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