Inside Robin Safar’s Cruiserweight Strategy: Why He’s Targeting Mikaelian, Billam-Smith, and Rozicki Next

Cruiserweight is boxing's middle child, lacking the gravitas of the heavyweights and the historical background of light heavyweights.

Usually, light heavyweights will see cruiser as the weight class where fighters get accustomed to larger weights. Current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk started in the division and thrived before moving up.

Robin Safar (20-0, 13 KOs) wants to take the next step, possibly filling the void left behind by Usyk. Blessed with fight-ending power, the 33-year-old wants to jump up in class and start competing for world titles. Safar, with knockouts on his record and excitement in his future, wants to push the pace and get bigger fights sooner.

In what could only be considered an attrition-filled brawl, Safar kept his unbeaten streak alive with a victory. However, the fighter's self-critique stands out.

Safar on his performance

“It was not my best performance, but I got the victory, it’s all that matters,” he told BoxingScene. I won basically on will and determination. That was it, not skills. I didn’t show no skills and a lot of other things – a lot of other things."

"Everything had to do with me. It had nothing to do with him, to be honest. He was exactly what I thought he was, and he did exactly what he was supposed to do, and I thought he was going to do. It was just that my body didn’t want to do what I wanted to do, if that makes sense.”

In boxing, styles make fights, and occasionally, fighters don't always enjoy a stellar night. For example, Hasim Rahman caught Lennox Lewis off-guard and took a version of the heavyweight title. Similarly, Buster Douglas stopped Mike Tyson. Off nights happen.

Currently, Safar is ranked No. 2 by the WBO. Yet, he's not ranked that high by any other sanctioning body. As a result, he will see an eventual fight. However, that doesn't mean Safar won't call out champions.

"I would love to fight Chris Billam-Smith. I would love to fight Ryan Rozicki, too. I want to fight everybody in the division. Everybody. It don't really matter who I’m fighting. It’s just got to be a name or it’s got to be a title. That’s just it. That’s what I'm thinking right now. A hundred percent. Jai Opetaia, David Benavidez, Noel Mikaelian, those are the people I want… the people that are with the belts and the resumes, you know?"

The onus is on Safar to climb the rankings because he will need to keep winning. Eventually, sanctioning bodies cannot ignore exciting, undefeated fighters. Cruiserweight is not a moneymaking division, but there are opportunities for Safar to make waves.

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