Rivers Casino Match Features Ukrainian-Born Boxer ‘Demolition Man’

Posted on: April 8, 2022, 11:16h. 

Last updated on: April 8, 2022, 01:25h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Ukraine native Lyubomyr Pinchuk will enter the ring at New York’s Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady on Saturday. He will go up against Simone Federici of Italy for the WBC Continental Americas and NABA Gold Cruiserweight title.

Ukraine native Lyubomyr Pinchuk
Ukraine native Lyubomyr Pinchuk, right, faces Jose Mario Flores for the NABA Gold cruiserweight title at Turning Stone earlier this year. Pinchuk recorded a unanimous decision. (Image: Edward Diller/Star Boxing)

Pinchuk’s father and mother still live in Lviv, Ukraine, near the Polish border. The region has experienced some destruction as the war with Russia continues. Still, it has not been as decimated as other parts of the nation. Many refugees have found their way to the city. His parents remain protected.

“They just sleep wherever they can. They’re hiding from all of this war,” Pinchuk recently told the Times Union newspaper based in Albany, N.Y. “I guess [Lviv] is the safest city in Ukraine now.”

Father’s Encouragement

After all, looking back, Pinchuk owes much of his boxing career to his father.

“My dad was addicted to boxing. He never did it himself, but he was always watching it,” Pinchuk revealed to the Times Union.

Pinchuk’s father told him at the age of seven that he could try boxing. At first, Pinchuk really did not like the sport.

I was like a little chubby kid. Next thing I knew he’s sending me to a gym and I had to be disciplined. Everyone was making fun of me, and I didn’t like to do any exercise at all,” Pinchuk recalled.

But his father kept on encouraging him to stick it out. And so he did. He left Ukraine five years ago to begin his boxing career in the US. Now, he is known by the nickname “Demolition Man.”

In recent weeks, Pinchuk has been able to talk to his parents almost daily. His father is younger than 60, so the Ukrainian military might need him to join the fight, the newspaper said. So, he remains in the nation. Pinchuk’s mother will not leave Ukraine without her husband.

Match Up

Pinchuk is 25-years-old and stands 6-feet, 3-inches tall. He has a 14-2-1 record of wins, losses, and draws, and has eight knockouts.

This opponent, Federici, has an 18-2-1 record. He, too, has eight knockouts.

Saturday’s action represents the first time since Sept. 2017 that professional boxing will be at Rivers Casino. It is presented by Star Boxing. The two headline a seven-fight card presented by Star Boxing.