By Tomi Pradarics

English based Russian promoter and manager, Al Siesta spoke exclusively to BoxingScene.com ahead of the WBA Continental super middleweight title fight between Vladimir Shishkin (7-0, 4 KOs) and Nadjib Mohammedi taking place on the WBSS quarterfinal undercard in Ekaterinburg this coming weekend.

Siesta, who is working as an adviser next to Mohammedi (40-6, 23 KOs), was left bemused after the French super middleweight came up short on the scorecards against Fedor Chudinov for the WBA International 168-pound title on the Usyk vs Gassiev WBSS cruiserweight final undercard in Moscow on July 21.

 “Everyone has seen the Chudinov fight. Nadjib was robbed really badly! I have been promised this time the judging won’t be so biased towards the home fighter. Nadjib has a great chance to win the fight, but it’s a tough task against Shishkin. Vladimir is a real high-quality operator; I actually rate him higher than Fedor Chudinov as we are speaking,” told Siesta to BoxingScene.com.

“It should be a very good fight, I’m really looking forward to it! I will be in Nadjib’s corner and obviously, I’m hoping Mohammedi will take care of business.”

Siesta is best known for his work in guiding former cruiserweight world champion Mairis Briedis to the WBC title continued.

“It’s another great opportunity for Nadjib as this fight is for the super middleweight WBA Continental title and we hope to make him mandatory for the WBA world title,” said the Russian-born, UK-based businessman.

Siesta started working with Nadjib Mohammedi just prior to the Fedor Chudinov fight in Moscow after having campaigned almost the entirety of his career at 175 pounds. Siesta spoke on the state of the super middleweight division and the ultimate goals for his fighter.

“I need to put Nadjib into a mandatory position for a world title. It’s a wide-open division! Callum Smith holds the WBA Super title, so he’s the main target for most in the division. Obviously, Rocky Fielding is fighting Canelo and George Groves is still live and a huge fight for Nadjib. I’ve always been a huge fan of this weight class and am working hard to put together some great fights for Nadjib,” discussed Siesta, who made sure their focus is solely on the task at hand this Saturday.

“We are obviously focused on Shishkin this weekend. However, in my role as advisor to Nadjib, I am always looking at the landscape and looking at possible opportunities in the near future for my fighters.”

You can reach Tamas Pradarics at pradaricst@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TomiPradarics.