ALBANY -- For now, maybe forever, just call Kimdo Bethel by his nickname.
'I'm the X Factor now,' the heavyweight boxer said Thursday afternoon. 'I like that name.'
At 6-foot-3 with a 220-pound chiseled frame, who's going to argue with him?
Bethel, who has been known as one of the best amateur boxers in his weight class for years, will try to shake that moniker very soon. He is making his highly anticipated first professional fight next month when he takes on Shafi Abdulmumim (3-1, no knockouts) of Queens in a four-round bout at Bruno Stadium on Aug. 7.
Tickets are $30-50 and available by calling 330-9533 or 813-3416.
'There is no more laughing, there is no more try agains, there are no more maybes and no more ifs, ands or buts,' Bethel said after working out at the City of Albany Department of Recreation's Boxing Club on Quail Street. 'All of that is out the window. I used to dream about this but I don't anymore. Now, I am on a mission.'
Bethel spent nearly 10 years on the amateur trail and owns a Silver Gloves national championship and under-19 national championship. He was named as an alternate to last year's Olympic boxing team but never got to make the trip to China.
People he meets in stores and the gym and on the street all have had the same question for him: When are you going to go pro? He doesn't have to answer that question anymore.
He had an 82-6 record as an amateur. He hasn't fought in almost a year because there wasn't anything left for him to do as an amateur. Bethel and trainer Vladimir Koshnitsky have bided their time, waiting for the moment when the fighter was ready.
He's ready now.
'Kimdo's head is on straight and he can do this,' Koshnitsky said. 'His confidence is very high and I have no complaints because he works very hard. He is very serious about this.'
Bethel, who moonlighted as a security guard during Albany Patroons games at Washington Avenue Armory over the winter, works out four hours per day. He is also employed at the Quail Street club.
Bethel, 24, hopes to fight seven times in the next year. He hopes to move up the heavyweight ladder and get noticed. He hopes to win a title one day, dreams every young fighter has.
'I've accepted the challenges,' Bethel said. 'I am going to do whatever I have to do to get the goal. The only way I am going to be satisfied is if I do go all the way.'
Tim Wilkin can be reached at 454-5415 or by e-mail at twilkin@timesunion.com.
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Cindy Schultz/Times Union
Boxer Kimdo Bethel, left, works out with trainer Vladimir Koshnitsky at Albany Boxing Club. Bethel said his goal is to win a title.
