ESPN’s Laura Sanko Dives into Kazakh Culture, Inspired by UFC’s Shavkat Rakhmonov

American TV host and ESPN journalist Laura Sanko, known for her admiration of Kazakh UFC fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov, has shared her journey of learning the Kazakh language​. Sanko acknowledged that the process has been challenging but expressed enthusiasm for mastering new words and phrases. “It’s difficult. You would laugh if you saw me. I sit in my hotel room, watch YouTube videos, and try to repeat after them. When I think I’ve succeeded, I send an audio file to Sayat Abdrakhmanov, Shavkat Rakhmonov's manager, asking him to check. Then he translates my phrases into Kazakh, and I listen to them slowly, over and over,” she revealed during an interview with Schrödinger's Sport. Despite her dedication, Sanko modestly assessed her progress, emphasizing the significant effort required to learn Kazakh. “I learned that ‘sәlemetsiz be’ means ‘hello.’ I picked that up through YouTube. I wanted to prepare for a simple conversation, but I’m far from that. Kazakh is very difficult for Americans. It requires using deep throat muscles, while English relies on more frontal sounds. It’s hard for us to get it right,” she explained. Sanko has long been a familiar name among martial arts fans in Kazakhstan. She began following Rakhmonov’s career even before his debut in the UFC​. Her admiration for the fighter has occasionally sparked rumors of romantic interest, but Sanko maintains that her fascination is purely professional. Sanko’s admiration for Rakhmonov extends beyond his fighting skills to Kazakhstan's culture. She has made public appearances in traditional Kazakh attire, such as during a UFC weigh-in​. Ahead of Rakhmonov’s most recent fight, she appeared in a traditional Kazakh outfit and, after his seventh consecutive UFC victory, delivered a speech in Kazakh - a gesture widely appreciated by Kazakhstani fans. Shavkat Rakhmonov is one of Kazakhstan's most celebrated MMA athletes. Currently ranked No. 2 in the welterweight division, Rakhmonov remains undefeated with a 19-0 record.

A Guy From the Bronx and His Contribution to Uzbekistan’s Boxing Gold

Uzbekistan’s five gold medals in boxing at the Paris games owe something to Sidney Jackson, an accomplished boxer from a poor Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City, who is credited with introducing the sport to Central Asia in the early 1920s. That’s the view of Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the United States, Furqat Sidiqov, and other people in Uzbekistan who know about the country’s evolution as an Olympic boxing power. “This remarkable success is tied to Sidney Jackson, founder of Uzbekistan’s boxing school,” Sidiqov said on the X platform. He said Jackson’s legacy is still shaping champions today and urged people to watch a documentary about the American that was released in 2022 with the backing of the Uzbek government. Jackson, a beloved figure in Uzbekistan who died in Tashkent in 1966, started boxing when he was a boy, won featherweight titles in the United States and joined a boxing tour in Europe just before World War I. He dropped out of the tour because of an injury, traveled to Russia and then diverted to Tashkent when fighting erupted in Europe. Short of money, he stayed there, found a job, joined an international brigade that fought in the civil conflict sweeping Central Asia and the Caucasus after the Russian Revolution, and opened a threadbare boxing club in Tashkent after the war ended. [caption id="attachment_21805" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Sketch of Sidney Jackson by Rifkat Azihanov[/caption]   Over the years, he trained Russian and Central Asian boxers who had international success as representatives of the Soviet Union. Jackson laid foundations for athletes including Russian middleweight boxer Valeri Popenchenko, who won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo in 1964, and Rufat Riskiyev, an Uzbek middleweight boxer who won silver at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Uzbekistan’s boxing federation was founded in 1928, and Jackson served as its chairman for more than 20 years. The history of boxing in Uzbekistan is “inextricably linked” with Jackson, according to Uzbek boxing officials. “To call Sidney Jackson the grandfather of boxing in Uzbekistan is accurate, but still undersells his impact on the sport,” the asianboxing.info website said in 2020. “And whilst it may have been more than 50 years since he died, his impact is still felt there, and always will be for any Uzbek stepping between the ropes.”