“I have the warmest memories of that time” - Anatoly Malykhin recalls how his old coach took care of him as a kid

Anatoly Malykhin wasn’t always the terrifying world-beater that he is right now. The two-division world champion was once an aspiring fighter trying to find his space in the realm of combat sports.

During his visit to his hometown of Kemerovo in Russia, Malykhin reconnected with his childhood coach Zakharushkin Vladimir and held clinics for the youth in the city.

Malykhin, who nonetheless felt nostalgic during his trip, recalled how his coach Vladimir would often encourage him during training using a traditional Russian treat.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the reigning ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion said Vladimir would often give him bread during those long and arduous cardio workouts that usually drained his energy.

Malykhin said:

“But, still, my coach loved me very much and in order not to belittle me, but on the contrary to cheer me up and help me, he ran ahead and always took bread with him. He had small squares of sliced bread, which he sprinkled with salt and buttered. And on the way, when the race was long, he fed me so that I had the strength to run and energy. It was such a simple form of human care, and I have the warmest memories of that time.”

Offering bread and salt is a traditional way of greeting people in Russia, and it’s usually a way of treating visitors as if they’re royalty. It may be a simple showing of hospitality, but Malykhin had tremendous appreciation for his coach’s gesture.

The Russian juggernaut may even credit his unprecedented success to the kindhearted way his coach molded him during his youth.