Pavel "Cayman" Zhuravlev - a fighter known to a wide range of fans of kickboxing, Muay Thai. He is one of the strongest athletes in the heavy weight category, has repeatedly become the world champion among both amateurs and professionals. For a long time, the fighter performed in fights according to the rules of K-1, which are very popular. Now he is fighting in the Glory promotion, where he got close to the current champion Artem Vakhitov.
Athlete Feature
Pavel Zhuralev is a fighter with a wide range of abilities and skills. As a child, he was engaged in karate, boxing, kickboxing. Moving to an adult level, he successfully combined performances in various types of martial arts. Nevertheless, Pavel Zhravlev himself prefers kickboxing, here he feels most comfortable. The Ukrainian fighter performs in heavy weight, acts tough and aggressive. For his sharp, attacking manner in the ring, he received the nickname "Cayman".
Pavel Zhuravlev fought with the most powerful kickboxers, on his account a duel with Mirko “Krokop” Filipovich himself. Throwing high-kicks of incredible strength, Paul is able to break the attacking ardor of any athlete and suppress him.
Dominating the ring, he acts like a real caiman and a crocodile, mercilessly clenching his jaw and not letting his opponent come to his senses.
Not without success, Pavel Zhuravlev also tried his hand at muay-thai, akin to kickboxing, fighting for the highest titles. However, more intensive work with elbows and knees was required here, which is not very strong athlete.
With great muscle mass and strength, he acts in the ring with great speed. He explains this by the fact that he alternates periods of speed and strength training in his training.
The beginning of the way
Pavel Zhuravlev was born in Ukraine in the city of Saki in 1983. Since childhood, he was a very active boy, was engaged in several sports at once. Like all the boys, Pavel paid tribute to his passion for football, he hit the ball well. However, he hit not only the ball. In parallel, the guy with enthusiasm thrashed on punching bags and rivals in the karate and kickboxing sections.
At the junior level, he decided to try his hand at boxing, regularly participating in regional competitions. But boxing, limited by strict rules, did not attract Paul as much as kickboxing, where he opened up a wide field for initiative.
Amateur career
Having crossed the age of majority, Pavel Zhuravlev relied on kickboxing performances. He achieved great success at the amateur level, immediately bursting into the world elite. Starting at the age of twenty, a fighter begins to methodically collect champion titles. Already in 2003, he became the world champion in kickboxing according to WAKO, and also took bronze at the Thai championship in Thai boxing. Later, he repeatedly makes successful trips to Muay Thai, already speaking in the professionals.
Muay Thai is especially popular in Thailand, the fights of fighters gather a huge number of fans. There was even organized a special King’s Cup named after the King of Thailand, which regularly gathers the strongest athletes. Pavel Zhuravlev also managed to pick up this prestigious prize in his collection, removing all rivals from his path in 2004.
In 2005, the future "caiman" last participated in the amateur championship of the planet, finally winning the IAKSA world champion title.
The first years at a professional level
Since 2005, Pavel Zhuravlev begins active performances in the professional ring. For 4 years he spent more than 50 fights. At this time, he breaks into the number of the best fighters of the CIS and the world, having won over such authoritative athletes as Konstantin Glukhov, Alexey Kudin, Evgeny Angalevich.
The Ukrainian won the first title in 2008, becoming the WBKF world champion, speaking in weight over 93 kg. In 2009, the fighter made his successful debut in the prestigious K-1 kickboxing series. In his first fight, under the auspices of this promotion, Pavel Zhuravlev left no chance for Turkish kickboxer Gekhan Saki and won by unanimous decision.
In 2009, a Ukrainian fighter took part in the kickboxing world championship in Moscow, which was held according to the W-5 version. This tournament brought together the best fighters of the CIS and was held in a very representative form. In the semifinals, Pavel Zhuravlev came out against Alexei Kudin and in stubborn confrontation broke his resistance. Having gained excellent form, the fighter was unstoppable in the finals, having defeated Konstantin Glukhov.
Feats in K-1 and Glory
After 2010, fighter Pavel Zhuravlev concentrated on playing in K-1 tournaments. It was then that he met Mirko Filippovich and other stars who later transferred to MMA. He does not leave out of his attention and Muay Thai. In 2010, he entered the title fight for the title of world champion in this sport according to WKN. The Ukrainian fighter met with the Australian Nathan Corbet, the battle took place in Melbourne. Corbet was known for his elbow work in the ring and successfully applied his skills against Paul, having outplayed him in a stubborn battle.
In the same year, the K-1 tournament was held for the first time in Russia, in which Pavel Zhuravlev managed to win. In the future, the Ukrainian did not slow down and won in a variety of competitions, among which one can note: the SuperKombat Grand Prix, the King of Kings Grand Prix as well as the Legend Grand Prix.
Recently, the athlete has been playing under the auspices of Glory and is intensely preparing for the fight against Saulo Cavalari for the title of interim champion of this organization. Zhuravlev’s account already has a victory over a future opponent, which took place in 2012 as part of K-1.
Today, Paul considers his main goal to be a duel against the strongest light heavyweight fighter Artem Vakhitov.