Boxing
In Riyadh, the land of heavyweight wonders, Nikolai Valuev would be a huge star
It’s been 15 years since Nikolai Valuev lost to David Haye and went to the Black Forest to hunt wild boars, bears and huge wild sheep.
That night in Nuremberg he lost for the second time in 53 fights and left the ring without the WBA heavyweight title; Haye was still celebrating when Valuev disappeared. He has been seen very little since then, which is strange considering he is over seven feet elevated and probably weighs about 25 stone now. I have only seen him once in my travels since that night.
He would be a perfect candidate for Saudi Arabia’s unofficial heavyweight league, one of about 20 heavyweights to have fought at the Kingdom Arena to date. There is no other venue in history that could match the dominance of the Kingdom Arena in such a low period of time; four major shows, a fight for the undisputed title, and all in the span of just eight months.
Besides, perhaps as many as 18 of the world’s top 20 heavyweights have already climbed the rope. Make no mistake, Beast would be a player. I would argue he is far more resilient than Arslanbek Makhmudov, who was brutally exposed by Agit Kabayel in December; Makhmudov, at 6’6″ and with 17 knockouts in 18 wins, was being billed as Beast II, a limpid move. Valuev would not have given up like Makhmudov did.
That night in 2009, when Valuev came to the end of his long, long career, I landed at 7 p.m. and flew out at 7 a.m.; the journey, the fight, the flight are a blur. Luckily, I already had my interview with Valuev in my pocket. He was a lost soul, this huge guy, and I had a cushioned spot for him.
He hated violence, loved the works of Agatha Christie and hunting with a spear. He was not the first Soviet giant to be kidnapped at a youthful age and placed in one of the sports academies.
Jonathan Daniel/Bongarts/Getty Images
He was at the very end of the fading Soviet system, a system that created champions in every discipline. It was also a system without compassion or care for the thousands it rejected. The Klitschko boys were products of a similar regime.
He tried basketball and as far as I know he still holds the Russian record in the discus throw in the under 19 category. At the age of 20 an venerable Soviet boxing professor named Oleg Shalaev started working with him. As you can imagine it was a leisurely process to make him a boxer.
His choice for the noble art was based solely on size, not temperament. He quoted poetry; he was not a born warrior. He married a ballerina; he loved art.
It was Kellie Maloney who gave him the nickname “The Beast from the East” (several people claim she gave him that nickname) and he eventually won the heavyweight title. Sure, there was a lot of Primo Carnera in that lineup. In fairness, both Valuev and Carnera were fighters, brave, and showed a lot of heart.
“People were only interested in my size,” Valuev said. Carnera would have said the same thing, but he wasn’t allowed to tell his story.
Haye had been brutal in the weeks leading up to the fight, taking every opportunity to belittle Valuev. He spoke about his smell, his hair, his slowness. But privately there was nothing inconsequential about his preparation for the fight.
Haye had the riot act read to him several times that night by Adam Booth in his corner. Some of the pictures from the fight look bogus; Valuev is much bigger and Haye was getting smaller at times. It was an event, believe me.
Haye helped sell the fight; he made it a must-see event. It was popular at the time and that was because of what Haye did – he sold his fights. After Valuev, he did wonders with both John Ruiz and Audley Harrison. It’s effortless to forget how great Haye was. Needless to say, Haye in the Saudi mix would be great fun. “He’s another idiot in boxing,” Valuev said.
Remember, around this time Haye showed up at a restaurant where the Klitschko brothers were eating, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of him holding the brothers’ severed heads, which is why 60,000 seats were sold out for his planned fight with Wladimir in Gelsenkirchen.
Boxing – Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye WBA Heavyweight Title – Nuremberg Arena, Germany – 7/11/09
After Haye pulled out of his sold-out fight with Wlad, another Klitschko scandal erupted, this time involving Vitali. There was a suggestion and claim that on the day the Valuev fight was announced, Haye was close to agreeing – some say signing – to fight Vitali. The Klitschko-Haye rivalry is deep and nasty. You couldn’t be nasty to Valuev.
Memory can be tricky, but not in the case of Valuev and Haye that night in Nuremberg. The fight followed a relentless pattern: Haye moving, striking, moving and ducking, while Valuev tried to cut the ring. In the final fight, Haye finally landed a pristine shot, and Valuev came within a thud of landing. One judge called it a draw, the other two for Haye. In many ways, it was a tactical masterclass.
“I never said beating a giant would be pretty or effortless,” Haye said at the end. He was right.
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