Mr. Skrijelj was interviewed on Sunday, August 7th, 2022. (Published on August 9th, 2022)
RS: Please introduce yourself to the readers.
AS: I am Almir Skrijelj, I am from Montenegro.
RS: Can you tell us about your country, educate the readers about life in Montenegro.
AS: My country is beautiful and the people are extremely welcoming.
RS: Your alias in the ring is “Hot Blood, where did that originate from ?
AS: I got the name when I was boxing from the president of the WBC Mediterranean, he witnessed my fight where I pushed myself against my opponent.
RS: How did you get into the sport of boxing ?
AS: At the age of 3, I would watch my father train at the gym. Ever since then I have trained with him in the sport, he is still my greatest supporter and my advisor.
RS: Who is your biggest inspiration ?
AS: My greatest inspiration are the fight fans who are in the audience. They provide me with the motivation needed to continue to strive for success. There is no greater joy than hearing them root for your victory.
RS: What does it mean for you to be a fighter ?
AS: The definition of a fighter is anyone who sets goals and fight to achieve his goals in his life, that applies for inside and outside the ring.
RS: What separates you from every other fighter in your division ?
AS: Every fighter goes through difficult moments in life, maybe the fact that I always move on and look for the positive even when everything appears difficult.
RS: For people who’ve never seen you fight, which bout is the most worth going back to watch ?
AS: I think that every fight is good, everyone you see my progress. However, the fight I would single out the most will be when I became a UBF International champion in Denmark against Germany’s Matti Schaffran.
RS: If you could have one dream fight with anyone, who would it be ?
AS: Well as every fighter in the sport, I would like to reach the top. I would like to face Gennady Golovkin because he is on the top of the division.
RS: When you are not inside the ring, how do you spend your time outside of the ring ?
AS: When I am not inside the ring I am with my family. My wife and I are expecting a baby so all my free time is dedicated to my family. I do train daily because the sport requires it and I love training.
RS: What do you want to remembered for at the end of your career ?
AS: I want to be remembered for putting on good shows, a good athlete and a good human being.
RS: Your last loss came against Malik Zinad, what did you learn from that fight ? What are the positives and negatives associated with that loss ?
AS: It was a great experience for me, I fought at a heavier weight class for that bout. I think everything I learned was positive, I learned a lot, Malik is a great fighter. One thing I learned was that weight classes can play a pivotal role on how your career develops.
RS: Your last fight was against Siarhei Huliakevich of Minsk, Belarus, how did it feel looking in the stands and seeing your fans waving the flag of your country and going absolutely insane as if they were watching the world cup ?
AS: It was wonderful, a real wonderful feeling because we filled up the famed Decic stadium and proved that people in my country loves the sport of boxing. I would like to thank the municipality of Tuza, president Nik Djeljosaj for his unconditional support and Decic club for providing us with the stadium. This was a historic event as this was the first boxing event held at the stadium in 30 years, the last fighter was gold medalist Mate Parlov.
RS: As we close out this interview would you like to say something to your team, family, friends or fight fans ?
AS: Yes, I would like to wish everyone happiness and the greatest of health, the most important thing is to me is we all must embrace peace and seek a end to all wars, also end the unfortunate war between Russia and Ukraine.