VITALI KLITSCHKO vs NICOLAY VALUEV has been CONFIRMED

[Autobarn]

yep, one klitschko must lose, preferably wlad.

[Finn]

another crud fight we can all safely bet our life savings on!

Does anyone actually think this is going to be anything other than a klitschko win? i think haye rahman is the way to go now.

[Exoddus]

If you can get 4/7 on a Vitali win. Stake your bank on it. He'll hammer Valuev.

[lirva]

If you can get 4/7 on a Vitali win. Stake your bank on it. He'll hammer Valuev.

The odds will be good on Vitali to KO Valuev. Worth a bet surely.

[Benn Tenn]

If you can get 4/7 on a Vitali win. Stake your bank on it. He'll hammer Valuev.

The odds will be good on Vitali to KO Valuev. Worth a bet surely.

The only possible outcome IMO.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Valuev's got a pretty stout beard, he may make it to the end. However, I can see his corner pulling him out when his face becomes even more of a grotesque mask than usual.

[gobbles]

This isnt a done deal:

Bernd Bönte, the managing director of Klitschko Management Group, has commented on reports that WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko could be facing WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev in a heavyweight unification fight later this year. “We are at the moment not interested in a fight against Valuev,” Bönte said via email. “Vitali has other options which make more sense and are more intersting for the fans and the media (eg.Haye, Arreola). Valuev had the chance to fight Wladimir last weekend but he declined contrary to Chagaev. Should Valuev beat Ruiz in his mandatory we can maybe think about a fight with Wladimir or Vitali beginning of next year. And the WBA title is not a big deal anymore, because Wladimir beat the WBA champion in recess Chagaev by knockout and Chagaev had beaten Valuev. The win of the Ring Magazine championship belt means way way more to us!”

That's a negotiating tactic if ever I've seen one. If Valuev is willing, they'll take the fight, as long as there are no options.

[Carbo]

Poor Nikolai: Nice fella, family guy, fights for a living, much maligned.

Can't catch a break, can he?

The problem is that he's cr@p. Historical analogies are often half-baked, in my view; but if ever there was one that could work it's Valuev as Primo Carnera.

A huge lump who does well by virtue of his physical size and the paucity of talent around him.

Watching Chagaev on Saturday evening, I was reminded how thoroughly, pitiably awful the heavyweight division is -- as I am every time I watch a Klitschko win in exactly the same way they've both won on the previous three hundred and forty six previous occasions, with a pawing jab, 20 or so hard, long jabs a round, and then when the fleshy, shorter, sluggish lump in front of them starts to tire, a sharp right hand dropped in behind the jab.

Make no mistake, both Klitschkos, are decent and use a methodic, zero risk style to maximize their formidable physiques -- and I think Vitali, with his iron jaw, physical size and surprisingly aggressive personality, would have done ok in most eras -- but neither of them, in my view, are nowhere near the levels of the mid-ninties cabal of golden operators: Lewis, Bowe, and Holyfield. And the supporting cast which competes against the Klitschkos and gives us the benchmark for their quality in absolute, all-time terms, is nothing more than a risible shower. Compare, again, the supporting cast of the nineties, Moorer, Tyson, Morrison, Mercer, McCall, Bruno, and a little later Golotta, Briggs, Grant (until Lewis ruined him), Rahman, Tua, and the rest with what's there now. In fact, even though some of that lot are so far past their best that they can only move with the alacrity of an old woman’s home chair aerobics session, they can still compete because the standard at the top has dropped so precipitously.

It's a tragedy, make no mistake.

And for this reason, I really can't force myself to get up for this fight. It might have a freak aspect -- like seeing Andre the Giant square off with Holk Hogan and wondering just how the ring can hold that amount of beef -- but bar that, why do I want to watch it? To see the boxing equivalent of Sloth from The Goonies take a methodic, dull beating? To see the heavyweight division further debauch itself?

Oh, God, I'll probably watch it.

And then loathe myself for doing so.

[WildWaylon]

Its a fight that everyone wants but it doesnt seem many give Valuev much of a chance, so will it be good to watch or just a one sided affair. Looks like the brothers will have all the belts between them and defend against all commers for the next few years until one or both decide to call it a day. Cant really see Haye or Povetkin beating either.

[forcefraser]

Will this be the biggest combined height to have ever fought for a world title??

7ft 2 and 6ft 7? It has to be.

[DavidPayne]

Will this be the biggest combined height to have ever fought for a world title??

7ft 2 and 6ft 7? It has to be.

Is Valuev really 7-2 or in truth actually 6-11.5

[Adamj1987]

will it be the heaviest? valuev-mccline holds the record i think for a title bout

[jamesmcdonnell]

Will this be the biggest combined height to have ever fought for a world title??

7ft 2 and 6ft 7? It has to be.

Is Valuev really 7-2 or in truth actually 6-11.5

He is just under 7 foot. Isn't Vitaly something like 6'8 1/2 - hang on, has he shrank.

I seem to recall that Wlad used to be listed at 6 7, and Vitali at 6'9, but now it's 6 6 1/2. and 6 foot 7 1/2.

Maybe they overstated both their heights before, but Vitali has always looekd quite a bit bigger to me than Wlad.

[lirva]

Will this be the biggest combined height to have ever fought for a world title??

7ft 2 and 6ft 7? It has to be.

Is Valuev really 7-2 or in truth actually 6-11.5

He is just under 7 foot. Isn't Vitaly something like 6'8 1/2 - hang on, has he shrank.

I seem to recall that Wlad used to be listed at 6 7, and Vitali at 6'9, but now it's 6 6 1/2. and 6 foot 7 1/2.

Maybe they overstated both their heights before, but Vitali has always looekd quite a bit bigger to me than Wlad.

Yep, I'd say Vitali is in and around 6'8.