[3] He took up boxing in 1974 at the age of thirteen with the Avangard Sports Society and won three consecutive Soviet Youth Championships in 1978, 1979 and 1980.

Yagubkin has excelled, and Soviet coach Artyom Lavrov said this is a boxer worthy of his success.

[4] Steve Sneddon of the Reno Gazette-Journal described Yagubkin as "a classic boxer with an educated left jab.

[8] After he defeated Canadian Willie DeWitt, Novosti Press Agency praised him, "Yagubkin is known for his staunchness, courage, cold-bloodedness, flexible tactics and desire for victory.

Bob Arum negotiated with the Soviet Ministry of Sport, he wanted them to turn pro on the second Leonard vs. Hearns card.

In the words of the Los Angeles Times sportswriter Earl Gustkey, "Yagubkin does have great movement, however, and is a brilliant defensive boxer.

"[14] But that never happen as the Soviet government dismissed the idea early in 1989, and did not allow the three boxers neither to turn pro, nor to be employed as a sparring partners for the professionals.

Friendship Tournament, Yambol, Bulgaria, July 1979: Feliks Stamm Memorial, Warsaw, Poland, November 1979: Junior World Championships, Yokohama, Japan, December 1979: USSR–USA Duals, Moscow, Russia, January 1980: Belgrade Open, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, February 1980: USA–USSR Duals, Showboat Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1981: USA–USSR Duals, Hirsch Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana, February 1981: European Championships, Tampere, Finland, May 1981: World Cup, Montreal, Canada, November 1981: USSR–USA Duals, Lenin Sports Palace, Moscow, Russia, January 1982: World Championships, Munich, West Germany, May 1982: Belgrade Open, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, November 1982: USA–USSR Duals, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 1983: USA–USSR Duals, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1983: AIBA International Challenge, Reno, Nevada, May 1983: European Championships, Varna, Bulgaria, May 1983: World Cup, Rome, Italy, October 1983: King's Cup, Bangkok, Thailand, April 1984: Friendship Games, Estadio Latinoamericano, Havana, Cuba, August 1984: USA–USSR Duals, Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, January 1985: European Championships, Budapest, Hungary, May–June 1985: World Cup, Seoul, South Korea, November 1985: USSR–USA Duals, Olimpiysky Sport Complex, Moscow, Russia, January 1986: King's Cup, Bangkok, Thailand, April 1986: World Championships, Reno, Nevada, May 1986: European Championships, Turin, Italy, June 1987:

Despite being one of the world's top heavyweights, Yagubkin, who staunchly represented an essentially provincial sports club on the outskirts, turning down all offers to join highly regarded sports societies, for this and some other purely political reasons never made it to the Soviet Olympic boxing squad on three occasions, in 1980: on the pretext that he was way too young and inexperienced, as he was replaced with Pyotr Zayev (who won the silver), in 1984: he qualified successfully, but the Soviet government boycotted the Olympics,[4] and in 1988: on the pretext that he was too old, as he was replaced with Ramzan Sebiyev (who was dropped out in the preliminaries).