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On August 3, former heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev arrived in Germany for the final stage of his camp for the rematch with John Ruiz for the vacant WBA heavyweight title. Having arrived in the morning at the capital airport of Shenefeld, the boxer and his trainer Alexander Zimin at once went to the sports base in Kinbaum, which is 30 kilometers from the airport. For nearly three weeks, Valuev will train there with other boxers. [details]
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Klitschko will beat you if Chagaev was able to slap his way with Valuev Klitschko will either stop him or win a decision -
There is no way Klitschko could stop him. If anything it will be like the Sultan Ibragimov fight where everyone boos due to the fact that he doesn't take a chance to knock him out and settles for sporadic potshots.Originally posted by Leo Pradun View PostComment
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Valuev is a freak show and I dont like watching him fight. I get the feeling I'm watching some underground ****.Comment
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if you can watch the valuev/lyakovich.Originally posted by Leo Pradun View Post
i'm telling you leo someone lit a fire under valuev. he's got a good jab now and his stamina is superb. he's an improved fighter !
feel he gives wlad a run for it more than any other.
i find it disconcerting he wants to avenge his loss to chagaev.
chagaev to me is damaged goods but don't put him down for going the route of least rezitance.
you will see what i mean when he gets in there against that cagey mother hugger ruiz.
no foolin. try to watch the lyakovich!Comment
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Wlad would beat Valuev easily and boringly.Comment
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quoted from the fightwriter:Originally posted by Leo Pradun View Post
On a busy fight day in Las Vegas last Saturday I made sure I got to the MGM Grand media room’s internet cafe to grab a look at Nikolai Valuev’s fight with Sergei Liakhovich (webcast by the German ARD network).
Let me immediately give credit where credit is due. I have never seen Valuev box as well as he did in this fight. He was lacklustre against Jean-Francois Bergeron last September, but in this fight his jabbing, straight right hand and right uppercut were all thrown with excellent form and he looked steady and well-balanced. His new trainer, Alexander Zimin, working with Valuev for the second time, seemed to have smoothed out the huge heavyweight’s technique.
In the Bergeron fight, Valuev was meeting a shifty southpaw who was extremely elusive. The Russian Giant, in consequence, looked ordinary and plodding. It was a different story against Liakhovich, a heavyweight with a conventional style who does not move around the ring an awful lot. Valuev was able to get into a rhythm very early and right from the start his timing and distance were in place. In two fights he went from one of his worst performances to his best-ever one, and trainer Zimin deserves credit along with the fighter.
I did write in the preview that there was a chance that Valuev would look a lot better against Liakhovich than he had against Bergeron because he had more time to work with his new coach and also because he was not meeting a cagey southpaw this time. I never expected Valuev to look as effective and professional as he did, however.
Liakhovich suffered a shoulder injury in the fight and was taken to hospital afterwards to have it attended to, but he offered no excuses, saying that he simply could not do a thing with Valuev.
I can well understand the enthusiasm of the big man’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who said of Valuev’s performance: “Not in my wildest dreams would I have expected something like that. He finally showed what he is capable of doing. That was the best Valuev ever."
Valuev’s American promoter, Don King, was equally upbeat and as usual came up with a humorous comment: “Against Jameel McCline Nikolai showed the kneecap-busting-punch. Today he showed the shoulder-busting punch. He has just a great repertoire of shots. The spirit is back with him.”
Liakhovich did not move too badly at his heaviest-ever weight of 251 pounds, and I would not attribute his one-sided defeat to the added poundage. He was outclassed. The best-ever Liakhovich would not, I fear, have stood much of a chance with this version of Valuev.
It was obvious in the first round of Saturday’s fight that Liakhovich didn’t stand a chance. Valuev was hitting him far too easily.
By the third, with Liakhovich’s left eye bruised and swollen, I doubted if he would even get through the 12 rounds. He looked a very discouraged man in his corner, spitting blood and water. I stopped watching after seven rounds as the picture kept freezing — heavy internet traffic can do this, I am told. I was surprised to discover later that Liakhovich had made it to the final bell — I have to hand it to the Belorussian for taking his lumps and sticking it out to the bitter end in what was an unwinnable fight.
It is not that Valuev has great skills or hand speed, but he has all the basic punches and he delivers them well — very well indeed in this fight. Because he boxes at such an unhurried pace it seems as if he can fight all night. Combine this with his great size, and Valuev is always going to be a difficult man to beat — especially if he continues to box as well as he did last Saturday.Comment
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Don't ever say "no way". Anyone can get stopped. Valuev has never been hit as hard as Klitschko can throw them.Originally posted by Zocalo View PostComment
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