By Grigory Stangrit (Allboxing.ru) and Alexey Sukachev

Undefeated WBA "regular" light welterweight champion of the world Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-0, 9 KOs), who fought just once in 2013 (and stopped two-time former champion Souleymane M’Baye), has big plans ahead of him for 2014. Khabib and his brother/trainer Shafidin talked about their current state with Grigory Stangrit of Allboxing.ru.

Here are some most interesting excerpts:

About the current state of Khabib's injured hand, Shafidin said: “We would like to tell our fans, that Khabib’s rehab period is over. Few know that Khabib’s hand hasn’t been functioning at 100%. He couldn’t use it at all. He couldn’t move it. We at first thought just about making it move properly. When there was improvement in the beginning, the initial positive signs, I personally thought it would take a year at least for a full recovery. But in a good clinic we have been able to get back [to the normal state] in just a few months”.

About their future plans, Shafidin said: “Right now both hands are working almost perfect. Seeing that Khabib’s rehab process was nearing its end, his manager Vladimir Hryunov took the control of situation and flew overseas to the States to meet Bob Arum. The most important thing is that we have a date set on April 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The most likely opponent for us is Jessie Vargas (23-0, 9 KOs), who is ranked #9 by the WBC at welterweight. It’s not a done deal yet but chances are very high [that we face Vargas next].

About his feelings on being a part of Manny Pacquiao’s PPV, Khabib said: “Actually, I’m not feeling anything special at the moment. When the event comes, when I arrive in America to see all of the community, fans, reporters, my opponent – then it can be different."

About training plans, Khabib said: “I’ll depart to the States two months before the fight. I intend to conduct a whole camp there. Maybe we shall spend three weeks in Albuquerque with our friend Rustam Habilov of the UFC, and then relocate closer to Vegas."