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Valuev vs Haye: Does Nikolai Valuev’s reckoning now await him?

By Bill Patrice Jones -
As almost all boxing fans will now know, David Haye is scheduled to meet Nikolai Valuev for the now lightly regarded WBA heavyweight _title_ in an undecided venue. This article is not concerning David Haye or his very controversial negotiations leading to this fight. I wish not to ponder once more on whether Haye feigned injury whilst in training for Wladimir Klitschko or whether he proved himself a coward when offered the contract against Vitali Klitschko only to turn it down.

The fact is our current reigning WBA champion will now face the love/hate figure of David Haye, former undisputed and unified cruiserweight champion of the world..

Nikolai Valuev has been sitting precariously on his throne for some time now, ever since ‘winning’ the WBA strap against John Ruiz way back in 2005. For some he is merely indicative of the times, an exceptionally almost freakishly big man in the era of big men. Our heavyweights today are heavier and bigger than ever before dwarfing many of their historical predecessors. Whilst unentertaining he has worked his way to a _title_ shot after seemingly going nowhere for years and in that space of time he has beaten: John Ruiz, Evander Holyfield, Sergey Lyakhovich, Owen Beck, Monte Barrett and Jameel ‘big time Mcline. Obviously it goes without saying that he is in no way comparable to either of the Klitschko brothers who sit miles ahead in talent from the rest of the division. Yet nonetheless he is one of the top heavyweights of this era and any unification fight he potentially involves himself in could be lucrative.

Some are kind to Valuev, I and many others are not. It is my estimation that Nikolai Valuev is one of the biggest disasters in heavyweight boxing for years and symbolises all of the horrible traits of both today’s heavies and boxing politics. Heavyweight boxing is suffering terribly when it comes to producing entertaining and competitive bouts and I place much of the blame here on the significant increase in size seen in the heavyweights over the last decade. Whilst you will always find the few incredibly talented big guys (Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko) in general the steady increase in poundage has seen far too many heavies surface who are too heavy to be true athletes and too lethargic to perform impressively. Nikolai Valuev epitomizes everything about this ‘modern heavyweight’. He seems to resemble more some form of carnival attraction or WWE gimmick than a professional boxer. If his in ring performances were good enough we might forget what Valuev ‘looks like’ however as we have seen they only confirm the accusation. If anyone out there has enjoyed watching Nikolai Valuev fight then I applaud you. For he is arguably one of the worst titlists in heavyweight history, seen often enough merely pawing a lumbering jab out for 12 dull rounds, picking up a disgraceful decision in the meantime.

For Valuev never even managed to legitimately ‘win’ the WBA _title_. He lost his first fight with John Ruiz so clearly the crowd hurled jeers and boos at the ring during the new champion’s celebrations. It seems being well promoted and a potential moneymaker because of your appearance sometimes means more than actually ‘winning’ a _title_ fight.

Valuev defended his _title_ against the mediocre Monte Barrett, Jameel Mcline and Owen Beck (the last of which being one of his best stoppage wins) the big man from Russia was forced to meet his mandatory opponent Ruslan Chagaev. While the boxing world held their breaths as the bell went for the 12th we awaited the decision. Valuev had been coming agonizingly close to toppling Marciano’s unbeaten streak and the insult of having such a caliber of fighter do so was painful to swallow. Fortunately Valuev lost fairly and squarely, impressing me greatly with his humility in the bout’s aftermath. Valuev’s being outworked, outfought and out boxed by such a naturally smaller man, one who was last seen failing to land a punch against the impervious Wladimir Klitschko might serve as a crucial indicator of just how far ahead of the division the brothers are.

Valuev came back to the _title_ by beating the unknown Frenchman Jean Francois Bergeron over 12 and easily outworking the completely shot Sergey Lyakhovich to win on points. He then faced John Ruiz for the second time in another tedious sleep inducing affair and was awarded yet another controversial decision. The crowd met the decision with boos and jeers just as they had the first fight but Valuev walked away with the vacant world _title_.

If things could not get any worse Valuev was to follow his controversial win over Ruiz with an embarrassing and even more controversial defence against Evander Holyfield. Watching a befuddled giant, hopelessly following an almost geriatric legend Holyfield around the ring for 12 rounds was ugly. Valuev threw nothing more sinister than the type of jab a wild bear might deliver. Holyfield even in his seriously deteriorated state and advanced age managed to outwork Nikolai for 12. He looked every inch the athlete Valuev is not, moving and potshoting enough in this author’s view to win a justified decision. Yet it would not be a Valuev bout without the customary controversial decision and series of boos in disgust from the crowd. One cringes at the sight, knowing just how a prime Holyfield would have wiped the floor with this current ‘champion’.

Nikolai Valuev now faces David Haye for his world _title_. I as a boxing fan am angry at Haye for talking big about the Klitschko brothers for almost a year and failing to make a bout materialize. I am also disappointed as a boxing fan to not have a Haye Klitschko match up to look forward to. This is not the Haye fight I wanted but I am happy for one thing. I believe David Haye will finally bring about the end to the horrible reign of Nikolai Valuev in devastating fashion. I predict a lopsided affair over 12 or even more shockingly a technical knockout of the overwhelmed giant. It might not tell us much about whether Haye could beat either Klitschko but it would remove Valuev once and for all.

Just read that the WBA hasn't mad any decision on Valuev's next defense against Haye or the WBA mandatory John Ruiz. And that the are negotiations going on for a payout for Ruiz to step aside.

As much as I hate the idea of Valuev/Ruiz 3. I would love for Haye to get a taste of his own medicine and have to find a late replacement , for less money, and a better opponent making it a greater risk. Let alone have him idle for more then a year. Please god let there be JUSTICE. Or at least tell Haye the fight is not for the _title_ so in the end it's meaningless ..HAHAHAHA

Valuev-Haye To Go Ahead On November 7th, John Ruiz Agrees To Step Aside

by James Slater -
David Haye and his team can rest easy with regards to his upcoming fight with Nikolai Valuev. At one point, due to the intended actions of former WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, it looked as though there would be a good chance Haye would see his third fight in a row fall apart, and have to sit and watch "The Quiet Man" face the current WBA belt holder instead of him..

Ruiz, who has a position as the WBA's mandatory challenger at heavyweight, made it clear he would not sit idle and allow "The Hayemaker" to fight the 7-foot Russian giant ahead of him. However, according to BBC news, the Valuev-Haye fight is to go ahead as originally planned because Ruiz has agreed to step aside. So Haye, who pulled out of two fights with the Klitschko brothers, firstly Wladimir and then Vitali, will at last get to fight for a world heavyweight belt this year.

"There's no problem with the Valuev-Haye bout, everything has been sorted," Valuev's manager, Chris Meyer said. "We have struck a deal with Team Ruiz to step aside. Our attorneys are just putting it in writing. Once this contract has been signed, we will submit the necessary papers to the WBA by the end of this week."

Thus speculation of yet another scrapped fight in the agonisingly slow heavyweight career of David Haye ends. Fans, many of whom have already let their impatience with Haye's heavyweight adventure be known, could not have tolerated another let down.

According to the BBC article, this latest news means the fight will in all likelihood be one that is sanctioned by the WBA for the _title_. There hade been some talk that maybe the fight would go ahead, but as a non-_title_ bout. Haye now has in his sights the opportunity to fulfil a dream he has had since he was a small boy. No venue has been announced yet, but the fight will go ahead in Germany on November 7th.

By fight time, both men will have been out for a considerable amount of time - Haye since last November, Valuev since last December. How much a factor ring rust will be for one or both men remains to be seen.

As for Ruiz, who has lost two very closely fought and somewhat debatable decision losses to Valuev, it is thought he will box against an as yet unknown opponent on November's under-card. Most likely, though not yet confirmed officially, Ruiz would then get first crack at the headlining fight's winner.

David Haye Says Knocking Out Nikolai Valuev Will Be The First Step Towards Becoming Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

by James Slater -
David Haye has been relatively quiet as of late, as he has been preparing himself for his November 7th clash with the colossal Nikolai Valuev. Today, however, "The Hayemaker," inactive since his 5th-round stoppage win over Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett, has spoken to Sky Sports. In speaking to the T.V channel that will put out his WBA _title_ challenge on pay-per-view, Haye has made it clear a win over the huge Russian will only be the start of his heavyweight dominance. The former cruiserweight ruler from London is still as ambitious as ever when it comes to reigning as the undisputed heavyweight champion, and the 28-year-old says the KO win he will score over Valuev will put him in a great position to be able to fight Wladimir Klitschko next year - Wladimir, of course, being the man he should have fought back in June..

"My job is to knock out Nikolai Valuev and become the heavyweight champion of the world," Haye said. "I will be the first British champion since Lennox Lewis and that has always been my aim, to be a two-weight world champion. I was undisputed cruiserweight champion and my plan is to go up in weight and do what only one other fighter in history has done - that's Evander Holyfield - and then become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.

"The Valuev fight is the next step."

Haye then went on to talk briefly about the June date with IBF and WBO champion Klitschko that fell through due to his back injury.

"I was due to fight Wladimir Klitschko but picked up a back injury and that fight will have to wait until next year," Haye said. "It works out quite well though as by the time we fight each other it will be for a unification of the world heavyweight championships."

It sounds as though Haye is not only confident he will beat WBA champ Valuev, but it also sounds as though he feels he will have no trouble in getting a second date with Wladimir worked out. But will "Dr Steel Hammer" want to work with Haye in the future after all the problems that befell their last negotiations? Also of interest is the fact that Haye failed to mention WBC Vitali Klitschko - who, of course, he also pulled out of fighting this year, claiming the conditions of the contract, had he agreed to them, would have made him a "slave fighter."

But to be undisputed champion Haye will have to beat both Klitschkos. Will either brother have the patience to sit down at the negotiating table with Haye in 2010 after everything that happened (or didn't happen - in the ring, that is) in 2009?

Also, it's no dead cert that Haye beats Valuev, is it? November 7th's fight will be most interesting.

Anybody else find it kind of funny how all the British media is covering this fight. Hyping up Valuev like he was as good as the Klitschkos. How big and scary he is, how much he weighs, the quality of his opponents he has beat. All just to try to make Haye look like a superman if he pulls off a victory. Which if Holyfield who came close to doing it, isn't that impressive or hard to imagine.

I bet you earlier when Haye was just planning his move to Heavyweight ( and just calling out the Klitschko's because they were the best; and saying he wouldn't waste time with Valuev ) the media over there would have agreed and called Valuev a freak show with no talent. But now he's one of the toughest guy out there.

Well that's the impression I get from watching all their Sky Tv clips from YouTube

Any predictions or hopes of outcomes for this fight??
I see it as 50/50 and would be very surprised if it didn't go to a decision. With that being said I'll say Valuev 12SD. _base_d on the fact it's in Russia again. Probably with some controversy and possible rematch. Which could further stall the unification of the _title_s. Although I won't be to sad if Haye wins Just so we can watch either Klitschko bust his face threw the back of his head.


Just read this article a day after i posted my own opinion
Vitali Klitschko Thinks The Judges Will Rob David Haye

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=23288