Born   Height   Weight   Record   Alexander Zolkin WORLD BOXING ORGANIZATION (WBO) NO. 1 HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER Sept. 17, 1964, Moscow, Russia N/A 245 fights 26    wins 24    loses 2    draws 0    KOs 15 Russian-born Alexander Zolkin literally fought his way to his new hometown of Columbus, Ohio. An amateur champion in the former Soviet Union, Zolkin moved to Canada to turn professional in 1990. After fights in Florida, Canada and the Bahamas, his management team dissolved. Zolkin went to Columbus for a fight where he met John Johnson, the former manager of James "Buster" Douglas. He won the fight, signed with Johnson and settled down in the Buckeye state. One of the rising stars in the heavyweight division, Zolkin is currently ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization. Zolkin won his first 14 fights, defeating former cruiserweight champion Ricky Parkey and former heavyweight James "Quick" Tillis in the process. Zolkin took a major step in competition when he fought former heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs. In an impressive showing, Zolkin lost an unpopular decision that sent the crowd into a chorus of boos. Zolkin responded with a fourth-round TKO victory over former cruiserweight champion J.B. Williamson in his next fight. Next up for the Russian bomber was Mike "The Bounty" Hunter and his United States Boxing Association heavyweight championship. Seen live on ESPN, Zolkin stalked an exhausted and dehydrated Hunter for 12 furious rounds. Although Zolkin landed thunderous shots to both the head and the body, in the end, Zolkin lost by the narrowest of margins, a split decision. Zolkin is currently on a nine-fight winning streak. His first victim, Jerry Jones, who went the distance with Ray Mercer, never made it out of the second round. Next up was former contender Frankie Swindell. In front of a packed crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Zolkin brutalized Swindell for 10 merciless rounds. Then came victories over Carl Williams and John McClain in seven and two rounds, respectively. On March 21, 1995, Zolkin stopped Rocky Pepeli (KO 3) in Las Vegas to win the NABF heavyweight title. Since, Zolkin has mowed down "Smokin'" Bert Cooper (KO 9), Tony Tubbs (W-10, avenging an earlier loss) and Anthony Willis (W-10).