Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Valuev
Statistics
Real name	Nikolai Valuev
Nickname(s)	The Russian Giant The Beast from the East
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)[1]
Reach	2.26 m (89 in)
Nationality	Russian
Born	August 21, 1973 (1973-08-21) (age 38) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	50
Wins by KO	34
Losses	2
No contests	1

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Sergeyevich and the family name is Valuev.

Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev (Russian: Николай Сергеевич Валуев [nʲɪkɐˈlaj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ vɐˈlʊjɪf]; born August 21, 1973) is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight (on November 7, 2009), he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision. Three days after the fight, Valuev announced his retirement.

Biography

Valuev was born on August 21, 1973, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). He is of Russian descent, but he also had a Tatar grandfather.^[2][3][4]

He has two young children, daughter Irina and son Grisha (Grigoriy). In his professional boxing career Valuev has been defeated only twice by Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye.

Valuev is a Russian Orthodox Christian.^[5] During his youth he played water polo and basketball.

Boxing career

First reign as WBA champion

In 2005, Valuev squared off with WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, and won a twelve-round majority-decision, becoming both the tallest and heaviest champion in boxing history.^[6] In his first defence he defeated challenger Owen Beck (25–3, 18 KOs) by a third-round technical knockout in Hannover, Germany. In October 2006, Valuev fought Monte Barrett and defeated him with a technical knockout in the 11th round. In January 2007, Valuev fought Jameel McCline (38–6–3, 23 KOs) in St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland. Valuev won the match, successfully defending his title, after McCline was not able to continue the bout after injuring his knee when throwing a punch near the end of the 3rd round.

Loss of WBA title to Chagaev

The title defense was held on April 14, 2007. Chagaev defeated Valuev by a majority decision (117–111, 115–113 and 114–114).

Valuev changed trainers, from Manuel Gabrielian to Alexander Zimin, who coached the old Soviet Union amateur boxing team.

On September 29, 2007, Valuev won against Jean-Francois Bergeron in Oldenburg, Germany, by a 12-round unanimous decision (118–111 on all three cards).^[7]

Second reign as WBA champion

In a 16 February 2008, title eliminator, Valuev defeated former titleholder Sergei Liakhovich from Belarus, winning every round at the Nuremberg Arena in Germany.^[8] The victory earned Valuev the right to face Chagaev for the WBA title again, the only man who had defeated him in his boxing career. He was scheduled to face Chagaev for his WBA title on 5 July 2008, but Chagaev pulled out with an injury. Valuev instead fought John Ruiz for the vacant title on 30 August 2008 and the WBA decided to make Chagaev "Champion In Recess". Valuev defeated Ruiz by unanimous decision to regain the WBA heavyweight championship, with Valuev and Chagaev set to fight no later than 26 June 2009 to determine whom the WBA regarded as their champion.^[9] Their scheduled rematch on May 30, 2009 was cancelled due to Chagaev's viral infection and on 24 July 2009, when the WBA published their Official Ratings as of June 2009, Chagaev was no longer the "Champion In Recess" but the #1 challenger instead.

Valuev's first title defence of his second reign as WBA Champion was against the 46-year old, four-time heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield, on 20 December 2008, in which Valuev won a controversial majority decision.

Loss of WBA title to Haye

In his second defence, Valuev lost his title on 7 November 2009 against former unified and lineal cruiserweight champion David Haye in Nuremberg on points (114–114, 116–112, 116–112).^[10]

Health problems

Valuev's doctor has gone on record saying that he is treating Valuev for 'serious bone and joint problems'.^[11] Valuev will undergo two operations that will require at least six months on the sidelines.

Retirement

Valuev announced his retirement on a Russian newspaper three days after the loss to Haye on November 10, 2009.

Acting career

Valuev's first role in a movie was a cameo appearance in the German film 7 Zwerge – Der Wald ist nicht genug in 2006.^{[citation needed]} In 2008 Valuev played the main role in the film Stonehead by Philip Yankovskiy, playing an ex-boxer who lost his memory.^[12] The film took the main prize at the movie festival "Window to Europe".^[13] After the success of Stonehead, it was announced Valuev is being filmed in two new films at the same time.^[14]

Outside the ring

In January 2006 Valuev was accused of assaulting a security guard at the Spartak Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. No criminal investigation was ever launched by local police.^[15][16]

Valuev has written a book in Russian called My 12 Rounds, with the help of prominent Russian journalist Konstantin Osipov. The book discusses his life in general and his boxing career in particular. For that book, Valuev received an award from the government of Saint Petersburg.^[17]

Professional boxing record

50 Wins (34 Knockouts), 2 Losses, 1 No Contest[18]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Lost	50–2 1 NC	David Haye	MD	12	2009-11-07	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	Lost WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	50–1 1 NC	Evander Holyfield	MD	12	2008-12-20	Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland	Defended WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	49–1 1 NC	John Ruiz	UD	12	2008-08-30	Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Germany	Won vacant WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	48–1 1 NC	Siarhei Liakhovich	UD	12	2008-02-16	Nuremberg Arena, Nuremberg, Germany	WBA Heavyweight title eliminator.
Win	47–1 1 NC	Jean Francois Bergeron	UD	12	2007-09-29	EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany
Lost	46–1 1 NC	Ruslan Chagaev	MD	12	2007-04-14	Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	Lost WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	46–0 1 NC	Jameel McCline	RTD	3 (12), 3:00	2007-01-20	St. Jakob Halle, Basel, Switzerland	Defended WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	45–0 1 NC	Monte Barrett	TKO	11 (12), 2:12	2006-10-07	Allstate Arena, Rosemont, United States	Defended WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	44–0 1 NC	Owen Beck	TKO	3 (12), 2:44	2006-06-03	TUI Arena, Hannover, Germany	Defended WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	43–0 1 NC	John Ruiz	MD	12	2005-12-17	Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Germany	Won WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	42–0 1 NC	Larry Donald	MD	12	2005-10-01	EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany	Defended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title and WBA Heavyweight title eliminator.
Win	41–0 1 NC	Clifford Etienne	KO	3 (12), ?	2005-05-14	Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Germany	Defended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.
Win	40–0 1 NC	Attila Levin	TKO	3 (12), 2:34	2005-02-12	Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Germany	Defended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.
Win	39–0 1 NC	Gerald Nobles	DQ	4 (12), 0:42	2004-11-20	BigBox, Kempten, Germany	Defended WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title. Nobles disqualified for repeated low blows.
Win	38–0 1 NC	Paolo Vidoz	TKO	9 (12), 2:33	2004-10-09	Messehalle, Erfurt, Germany	Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight title.
Win	37–0 1 NC	Richard Bango	TKO	6 (10), 1:50	2004-07-24	Brandenburg Halle, Frankfurt, Germany	Won Interim WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Win	36–0 1 NC	Marcelo Dominguez	UD	8	2004-04-17	Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Germany
Win	35–0 1 NC	Dicky Ryan	TKO	1 (10), 2:43	2004-02-28	Mehrzweckhalle, Dresden, Germany
Win	34–0 1 NC	Otis Tisdale	KO	1 (8), ?	2003-10-04	Stadthalle, Zwickau, Germany
Win	33–0 1 NC	Bob Mirovic	UD	8	2003-08-16	Nuerburgring Race Track, Nürburg, Germany
Win	32–0 1 NC	Vitali Shkraba	TKO	4 (10), ?	2003-07-18	Belarusian State Circus, Minsk, Belarus
Win	31–0 1 NC	Pedro Daniel Franco	UD	12	2003-03-15	Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Defended PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	30–0 1 NC	Kostyantyn Pryziuk	RTD	3 (10), 3:00	2002-10-10	Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Defended Russian Heavyweight title.
Win	29–0 1 NC	Taras Bidenko	UD	12	2002-07-21	Seoul, South Korea	Defended PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	28–0 1 NC	Yaroslav Zavorotnyy	TKO	3 (10), ?	2002-06-15	Druzhba Palace of Sports, Donetsk Ukraine
Win	27–0 1 NC	Toakipa Tasefa	UD	12	2001-09-28	Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Defended PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	26–0 1 NC	George Linberger	TKO	1 (12), ?	2001-06-30	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, United States	Defended PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	25–0 1 NC	Vitali Shkraba	TKO	4 (8), ?	2001-03-06	Moscow, Russia	Defended PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	24–0 1 NC	Tone Fiso	TKO	1 (12), ?	2000-10-29	Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Won PABA Heavyweight title.
Win	23–0 1 NC	Yuriy Yelistratov	UD	12	2000-06-06	Yubileyny Sports Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Won Interim PABA heavyweight title.
Win	22–0 1 NC	Yuri Nikolaev	TKO	2 (6), ?	2000-03-10	Novosibirsk, Russia
Win	21–0 1 NC	Alexey Varakin	KO	1 (12), ?	1999-12-15	Saint Petersburg, Russia	Defended Russian Heavyweight title.
Win	20–0 1 NC	James McQueen	KO	1 (6), ?	1999-06-25	Prague, Czech Republic
NC	19–0 1 NC	Andreas Sidon	NC	6	1999-05-07	Prague, Czech Republic	NC due to fighting without a referee.
Win	19–0	John Tupou	TKO	4 (10), ?	1999-02-13	Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan
Win	18–0	Alexey Osokin	TKO	6 (10), ?	1999-01-22	Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Won vacant Russian Heavyweight title.
Win	17–0	Evgeny Odolsky	KO	1 (6), ?	1998-12-19	Casino Conti, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	16–0	James Gaines	UD	6	1998-06-09	Moscow, Russia
Win	15–0	Jim Huffman	TKO	2 (4), ?	1998-03-14	Olympisky Sport Hall, Moscow, Russia
Win	14–0	Sinclair Babb	TKO	1 (6), 2:05	1997-12-06	Stockland Stadium, Townsville, Australia
Win	13–0	Alarim Uysal	TKO	2 (6), ?	1997-11-08	Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Win	12–0	Kevin Rosier	KO	1 (6), ?	1997-09-27	Moscow, Russia
Win	11–0	August Tanuvasa	TKO	1 (6), 2:44	1997-08-21	Bankstown RSL Club, Sydney, Australia
Win	10–0	Rodney Harris	UD	4	1997-07-26	Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa, Japan
Win	9–0	Terrell Nelson	TKO	2 (4), 1:26	1997-05-31	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, United States
Win	8–0	Manao Navuilawa	TKO	1 (4), 1:24	1997-05-09	Bankstown Sports Club, Sydney, Australia
Win	7–0	Patrick Slade	TKO	1 (4), 1:59	1997-03-21	Parramatta RSL Club, Sydney, Australia
Win	6–0	Darren Fearn	TKO	1 (6), ?	1996-11-26	York Hall, London, England
Win	5–0	Neil Kirkwood	TKO	2 (4), ?	1996-10-08	Town Hall, London, England
Win	4–0	Sergey Anikeev	KO	2 (4), ?	1995-02-16	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	3–0	Alexey Tsygankov	KO	3 (4), ?	1994-04-15	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	2–0	Alexander Vasiliev	UD	4	1994-02-22	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	1–0	John Morton	TKO	2 (4), ?	1993-10-15	Sporthalle, Schöneberg, Germany	Valuev's professional debut.

References

1. ^ Nikolay Valuev – Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.
2. ^ Размер имеет значение
3. ^ Валуев стал еще сильнее, а Ляхович попал в больницу – бокс, Валуев – Росбалт-Петербург
4. ^ Николай “Beast from the east” Валуев » Paradyz.ru
5. ^ Священник, бывший боксер-любитель, благословил Валуева на бой с Руизом Православие.Ru
6. ^ 7-foot giant claims WBA heavyweight title – Boxing- NBC Sports. Nbcsports.msnbc.com (2005-12-17). Retrieved on 2011-04-19.
7. ^ Rafael, Dan (2007-08-14). "Ex-champ Valuev to fight Bergeron in Germany". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2973868. 
8. ^ "Valuev dominates Liakhovich!". http://www.boxnews.com.ua/news.php?id=4000&lng=en. 
9. ^ "Ruslan Chagaev". http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=24358&cat=boxer. 
10. ^ "Loss to David Haye – BBC Website". BBC News. 2009-11-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/8347139.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
11. ^ "Valuev future in doubt". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12183_6331464,00.html. Retrieved 25 August 2010. 
12. ^ Кинопанорама – Блог команды Николая Валуева – Бокс – Sports.ru
13. ^ "Кинокартина с участием Валуева получила приз кинофестиваля "Окно в Европу" – Бокс/MMA". Sports.ru. http://www.sports.ru/boxing/5495419.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
14. ^ "Валуев снимается сразу в трех фильмах – Бокс/MMA". Sports.ru. http://www.sports.ru/boxing/4393667.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
15. ^ "Valuev: "I faced with typical Russian boorishness aggravated with alcohol"". Rin.ru. 2007-01-21. http://news.rin.ru/eng/news///4373/. 
16. ^ "Russia's 'Beast from the East' in security guard assault scandal". RIA Novosti. 2006-01-26. http://en.rian.ru/sports/20060124/43162439.html. 
17. ^ "Николай Валуев получил литературную премию за автобиографию – Бокс/MMA". Sports.ru. http://www.sports.ru/boxing/3854881.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
18. ^ Nikolay Valuev – Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-19.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Nikolai Valuev from BoxRec
• Valuev interview
• Valuev interview
• (German) Personal page from promoter
• (Russian) Official personal site (English)
• Boxing-Encyclopedia

Sporting positions
New title	WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion Interim Title July 24, 2004 – October 9, 2004	Unified
Vacant Title last held by Wladimir Klitschko	WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion October 9, 2004 – December 17, 2005 Won world title	Vacant Title next held by Ruslan Chagaev
Preceded by John Ruiz	WBA Heavyweight Champion December 17, 2005 – April 15, 2007	Succeeded by Ruslan Chagaev
Vacant Title last held by Ruslan Chagaev	WBA Heavyweight Champion August 30, 2008 – November 7, 2009	Succeeded by David Haye

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Persondata
Name	Valuev, Nikolai
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1973-08-21
Place of birth	Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death