Vyacheslav Senchenko was a talented amateur who enjoyed success as a professional career, having fought Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton and Kell Brook among others.
Senchenko was born in the Industrial city of Kremenchuk, Ukraine on April 12, 1977. His father worked several different jobs including as a welder, a loader at a meat factory and a paramilitary guard, while his mother was a cook at a kindergarten. During his formative years his love of sport began.
“I had somewhat of a common childhood,” Senchenko told The Ring through Eduard Khabrov. “My connection with sport happened very early. My father was quite an athletic man, who led an active and healthy lifestyle. Dad was the one who instilled the love for sports in me from an early age. He was taking me for morning runs and different exercises at home.
“Later, when I was already studying at school, I was visiting various sport sections in the city. I tried football for several years. The district team I played for participated in tournaments of different level – from district level competition to city level and eventually to a regional level competition.
“Back in those days, there were so called ‘rooms for pupils.’ Basically, it’s the place where you could come and get involved in different activities – table tennis, checkers and etc. I was a frequenter there and tried my hand in everything I could.”
He was encouraged to try boxing by his father and elder brother, Oleh, when he was around 8, or 9 years old.
“I was given my first boxing classes at home,” he said smiling. “We had two pairs of gloves – I would put on one pair of gloves and my dad put on another pair and would act as my opponent (laughs). We’d exchange some punches. Dad would allow me to punch him here and there. My brother was standing nearby and giving me some advice. A little later, I’d join the boxing club and my journey went from there.”
He progressed and stuck with boxing, and by 1994 he had become a member of the youth national team. The following year he won bronze at the European youth championships in Siofok, Hungary.
Senchenko then transitioned into the senior national team and went on to win the Ukraine national championships twice and then the European Cup. He picked up a bronze medal at the World Cup in Beijing, China in 1998 before representing his country at the World Championships in Houston in 1999. That led to him going to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
“To be honest, I just wasn’t ready for those Games,” he said. “First off, I went out there without my trainer. We flew to Sydney a month prior to a start of competition. Here in Ukraine, it was already a warm summer. But, of course, it was winter in Australia. It was pretty cold. Lot of our guys fell sick and I got ill too. I had frontal sinusitis and everything that comes with it – terrible headaches etc. Given the circumstances, you can’t take antibiotics or other medicines. Or otherwise, you’ll most likely fail the PED test. So, I was ill for almost the whole camp. That was the worst condition I’ve ever been in. So was the result – I lost to a fighter from Egypt by a score of 16-19.”
Without a medal it was difficult for Senchenko, who had over 300 amateur fights, to find interested suitors to bankroll his professional career. He thought about giving up boxing and moving in a different direction, but a conversation with people in Donetsk lead to him boxing on some club shows. After a year, Dmytro Eliseev and Yuriy Ruban formed a promotional company called Union Box Promotion and signed Senchenko, who turned professional in June 2002.
Over the next couple of years, Senchenko fought almost exclusively in Donetsk and won several regional titles, moving his record to 26-0. He was then matched with former European champion Frederic Klose in a WBA eliminator. It proved to be a valuable learning curve for a number of reasons.
“The fight with Frederico Klose was one of the toughest fights of my career,” he said. “Klose was a rugged and experienced fighter. We boxed in July. There was a tremendous heat inside the arena. I was told that the temperature in the building was about 40+°C. I didn’t make weight the right way. In-between fights was just 3-4 kg over the welterweight limit. I didn’t have to cut a lot of weight. The welterweight limit is 66,7 kg. And I was weighing probably 68.5 or 69 kg in camp for Klose. At the official weigh-in, I made 66.7 kg rather easily. But then I entered the ring weighing 67.5 or 68 kg. So, I didn’t gain a lot. During the intense fight, I lost about 5 kg (of water).
“For the first 8-9 rounds, I mostly had it my way. But I was completely exhausted by the championship rounds. And after the 11th round, I was almost gone. I don’t remember the 12th round. I don’t know how I survived it. No other explanation. When they announced the winner, you could see my team literally holding me as I was barely standing. Then, after I was announced a winner, I fainted on my way to a dressing room and was taken to a hospital. When I regained consciousness, doctors told me that on top of the severe dehydration I also had a heatstroke.”
After a stay-busy fight, Senchenko met compatriot Yuriy Nuzhnenko in Donetsk for a WBA belt [Editors Note: Shane Mosley was the WBA “Super” champion and thus recognized as legitimate titlist] in April 2009.
“It was the first time two fellow Ukrainian boxers fought for the championship in Ukraine,” he said proudly. “The fight was viewed as 50/50. We both had a win over Klose, but it was thought that Nuzhnenko beat him more convincingly, than I did and on the road in France. Some thought Nuzhnenko had an edge over me. We fought at Druzhba Sports Palace. The place was filled. The atmosphere was electric!
“The winner announcement after the Nuzhnenko fight caused a plethora of emotions. That special moment of lifting the belt was sort of a completion of an important phase of my sports path and of my life as a whole. I remained a person I was before that. I didn’t suddenly become big-headed or anything like that.”
Over the next couple of years, Senchenko made three successful defenses. During this he linked up with Freddie Roach and began training at the famed Wild Card, in Los Angeles.
“It was an honor for me to work with Freddie. I couldn’t even imagine that one day I’ll be training in such an environment. It was a real joy,” he said.
“Freddie’s insane dedication deserves a special mention. He literally lives in his gym and truly gives it his all in training. He treats his fighters as his own kids. He had time for everyone of us, going through tactics, working on mitts or just sharing advice if one needed it – he was doing it all. And such an attitude from a trainer towards a student is really inspiring. I have nothing but wonderful memories about my training camps there. Amir Khan and Jorge Linares were the fighters I frequently trained shoulder-to-shoulder with.”
Senchenko had been scheduled to defend his title against mandatory challenger Brad Soloman. But when that failed to materialize, Senchenko decided to face former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi instead. The Ukrainian did so without Roach, who was in the Philippines training Manny Pacquiao.
Vyacheslav Senchenko (left) and Ricky Hatton
They worked out a game plan before going their separate ways but come fight night Senchenko struggled to implement it.
“The key thing was that I lost the jab duel early on,” admitted Senchenko, who was stopped in nine rounds. “He had those fast snappy jabs and he was aiming at an eye area with them. Those jabs caused the swelling and a cut under my left eye. My cutman failed to reduce it. A hematoma has formed and was getting bigger with each round. The eye was closing. Obviously, it was bothering me. Then referee Steve Smoger came to my corner and said that he might stop the fight as my injury was getting real bad. Frustration set in, I started making mistakes and the gameplan went out the window.”
Several months later he received an offer to go to face Ricky Hatton, in the hugely popular stars hometown of Manchester.
“It was then that I felt how the loss to Malignaggi changed the perception of me as a fighter,” he said. “If I recall, I was a favorite coming into Malignaggi fight. But after that one loss, I was suddenly just viewed as a pushover, a stepping stone and a suitable comeback opponent for Ricky Hatton. I even heard rumblings that I was gonna go to U.K. just for a paycheck. Well, I had a different opinion.”
The Ukrainian prepared at home in Ukraine and employed future junior welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov as head lead sparring partner.
“In general, everything was great,” he said of how he was treated. “But there were also some funny stories (smiles). When we checked in at the hotel, we asked (our hosts) for scales. They delivered us scales. I got on the scales and they showed that I weighed 65 kg. I was like, ‘This can’t be true!’ I was more or less aware of what my approximate weight should be at the week of the fight. I should’ve been a little over the 66,7 kg limit. But no way I could’ve been lower than that. When we told our hosts about that, they said, ‘Oh, but that’s good! You can go and eat all you want!’ And I’m like, ‘No, guys, I don’t believe these numbers.’ (laughs). So, we headed over to the shop and bought other scales. I stood on them and these scales showed I was about 67 kg. So, exactly how I though I should weigh (laughs).
“The event was organized at the highest level. Everything was top-notch. The official weigh-in on Friday was crowded with fans! The Manchester Arena was jam-packed! I fully felt the British boxing atmosphere – music, chants, drums! You could tell, Ricky Hatton is a true national hero over there. The atmosphere before and during the fight was phenomenal!
A last-minute issue in the dressing room threw things into a tailspin but Senchenko kept his composure.
“I think, we were taping hands and all of a sudden, the ceiling collapsed and the water started flooding the place,” he revealed. “The pipe burst, I believe. We tried to move over to another dressing room, but there was some problem as well and it was unavailable. Then, we moved to a third dressing room and it was without any furniture. No armchairs to sit down on after a warm-up. So, we quickly did a final warm-up and then had to stand for a bit before heading over to the ring.”
Hatton tried to take the initiative early on and Senchenko had to work his way into the fight.
“The fight itself was very intense,” he said. “Ricky started very fast and put me under pressure from the start. He really set a torrid pace in the early rounds. I needed some time to settle in.
“By the mid-point of the fight, I was getting more relaxed and was making adjustments. I began stopping Ricky in his tracks, when he was lunging in. I was catching him with counters and was making him pay for his misses and I could see he was getting frustrated.
“I felt like I was still a little behind on the scorecards. I began standing my ground and was fighting in the center of the ring more often. I was landing good clean shots. But I felt that I still needed to do more to get the upper hand.
Vyacheslav Senchenko in his role as boxing trainer
“Down the stretch of the fight, my confidence was growing and I started enjoying the fight. Couple of times, I kinda gestured to Ricky that I don’t really feel his punches. He probably didn’t like it and it could’ve added to his frustration. Before the eighth round, my trainer told me that I need to go out there and give it my all in these remaining rounds. I felt like I can do it. I felt that at that point, I had more left in my tank (than Ricky). Even if I wouldn’t have landed that liver shot in the ninth round, I believed I had enough in me to snatch those last two rounds and possibly win a decision.”
That win earned him a second trip to the U.K. This time, he met Kell Brook. However, he didn’t have a good training camp.
“I know that the elbow thing may sound like a ready-made excuse. Personally, I don’t say that it was the key reason for my loss,” said Senchenko, who was stopped in four rounds. “But did the elbow bother me in training and during the fight? Yes, it did. I’d spar one week and then I’d take the week off, because my elbow was swollen. The level of sparring in that camp left a lot to be desired. The overall preparation was so-so, to be honest.
“The fight didn’t go my way from the very beginning. Brook found the home for his crisp accurate jab right from the start and kind of set the tone for the rest of the fight. As soon as I got hit by those first few heavy jabs, I somewhat abandoned the gameplan and started fighting the wrong fight. For every shot that I took, I was looking to answer with a shot of my own immediately. Initially, the plan for the early rounds was to use legs, box in and out. Instead, I was getting into trenches with Brook a little too much and a little too soon. That was a mistake all-around, as Brook was beating me to the punch.
“At the end of the day, I lost the fight in every way. I came up short in terms of tactics. I wasn’t able to fully use my jab, as my elbow bothered me.”
Senchenko fought three more times against lower-level opposition before fighting for the final time in 2015, with a record of (37-2, 25 knockouts).
The Russia-Ukraine conflict officially started in February 2014, though intensified when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
“On the morning of February 24th, 2022, my family and I woke up from sounds of explosions,” he vividly recalled. “I came up to the window and saw flashes of flames on the horizon. Seconds later, I witnessed couple of rocket strikes. Rockets fell to the area, that is not too far from my house in the suburbs of Kyiv.
“My family and I were hiding under a concrete staircase during shelling’s. I can’t forget how scared the kids were.
“There were volunteers, with whom I cooperated in the first days of the invasion and began to provide various help to people, who served in the Kyiv territorial defense forces. Body armor, helmets – everything we could help with during the period of active hostilities in the Kyiv region.”
In April, 2022, the Russian army withdrew their troops from Kyiv.
“Of course, the war didn’t end there. And, as you know, it continues in other parts of the country. That’s the reality we continue to live in.”
Senchenko moved his family to Kyiv in January 2015. It was after that he fought for the final time and when he stopped receiving offers to fight turned his hand to coaching. He works with several boxers at the Fight Academy Club and was notably in the corner of Karen Chukhadzhian, who fought rising welterweight Jaron Ennis earlier this year. He is also involved in a new promotional company called Balu Promotion.
Senchenko, now 46, is married, has two children and lives in Kyiv.
He graciously took time to speak to The Ring about the best he fought in 10 key categories.
BEST JAB
Kell Brook: “I lost the lead hand duel to Kell Brook and Paulie Malignaggi. Paulie was faster than me, Brook had a better timing. Out of the two jabs, Brook’s jab was more precise and also had a great timing on it. It felt stiff, too.”
BEST DEFENSE
Brice Faraji: “There was a fight against Frenchman Brice Faraji. It was quite complicated to hit him clean. I couldn’t find him with my jab and land it on him. I’d say, Faraji had the best defense.”
BEST FOOTWORK
Malignaggi: “I wasn’t really able to trap him against the ropes and catch him with a solid shot.”
BEST HANDSPEED
Malignaggi: “He was overall faster than me. He had the fastest hands (out of all my opponents) and I wasn’t always keeping up with his punches. Particularly, with his quick jab. I wasn’t defending myself from his fast jab in a right way. I was trying to negate his lead hand by moving my head side-to-side and, in one of the sequences, I maneuvered my head into his jab – that’s how he cut me and that eventually led to such a loss. Looking back, if I should have just tried to block his jab and take it on the gloves – I could have neutralized it.”
SMARTEST
Faraji: “Frederic Klose was an experienced vet, but as far as ring smarts – I would say Brice Faraji was really smart and, perhaps, the smartest. Very good, classy boxer. Sharp, sensible.”
STRONGEST
Brook: “He was physically stronger than me and also heavier on fight night. We were 8 KG [17 pounds] apart in weight by the time we stepped into the ring. He weighed 78 KG [171 pounds] and my weight was 70 KG [154 pounds.]”
BEST CHIN
Motoki Sasaki: “He was getting hit, but kept coming forward.”
BIGGEST PUNCHER
Brook: “He had a heavy punch! But his power was like that not least because of his timing and accuracy. It was crisp.”
BEST BOXING SKILLS
Malignaggi: “American style. Good reflexes. Nice head movement.”
BEST OVERALL
Ricky Hatton: “We both came very well-prepared for this fight; we were in good shape. And this was overall my toughest fight – both physically and emotionally. This is the biggest event I’ve been involved in, and it was my most memorable fight. Hatton was the biggest name and the most accomplished fighter I fought.”
Eduard Khabrov helped translate and make this feature possible. The Ring appreciated his assistance.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].
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