Nikolay Valuev vs. Ruslan Chagaev

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Nikolai Valuev 319 lbs lost to Ruslan Chagaev 228 lbs by MD in round 12 of 12

  • Date: 2007-04-14
  • Location: Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • Referee: Luis Pabon
  • Judge: Stanley Christodoulou 114-114
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  • Judge: Hector Hernandez Vilchis 113-115
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  • Judge: Chalerm Prayadsab 111-117
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Notes

Valuev vs Chagaev.jpg
  • Confirmed between 13 and 19 November 2006.[1]
  • Going into the fight, Valuev had a 46-0 record and was three wins away from matching Rocky Marciano's 49-0.
  • Valuev was a 5 to 1 favorite.
  • "I was welcomed as a national hero. When I was a kid I saw Soviet films about how astronauts were welcomed in Moscow but who would've thought I would receive similar treatment one day in my home? At the ladder of a plane that brought us to Tashkent, a red carpet was laid down. The amount of people that were at the airport was crazy. I was put in the government's cabriolet and taken to the presidential residence. Along the road there were dozens of people that formed a corridor and were chanting my name. All this time, to be honest, I was in some kind of numbness, because I never expected something like this, especially since it was 11 p.m. The Prime Minister, the Mayor of Tashkent, the Minister of Sports, and many other government officials came to the residence for a gala dinner in honor of my victory. The next day I was accepted by the President Islam Karimov. He awarded me with the Order of Outstanding Merit, my promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl received the Jasorat (Bravery) Medal, my manager Taimaz Niyazov received the Shuhrat (Glory) Medal. Then we all laid flowers at the Monument to the Independence​ and Humanism, met with children from sports schools, and in the evening a grandiose concert was held at the stadium of the National Bank of Uzbekistan. I was also given keys from Daewoo Lacetti, these are produced at a join Uzbek-Korean factory in Andijan. [...] I couldn't even get to my house because I was taken straight to the residence from the airport. They explained that if they took me home, people would simply tear me to pieces: there were too many people who wanted to congratulate me on my victory" - Chagaev describing his arrival to Uzbekistan after becoming world heavyweight champion
  • The fight drew 7.57 million viewers on Das Erste with 39.3 market share.

Valuev Is Defeated! Chagaev Is The New Champion

By Andriy Zelenin, Sport UA, April 15, 2007

What was unbelievable happened. Ruslan Chagaev showed all the versatility and greatness of boxing technique and skill in a fight with a superhuman, but not a super boxer, Nikolai Valuev, and deservedly won on points (though, only according to two judges out of three). Valuev faced an opponent superior to himself in technique and tactics - his dimensions and the over-emotional coach were unable to help him this time.

Yes, folks, we've seen a rough fight. I will not enter into sinful confrontation with the truth if I say that it was the most spectacular fight in which Nikolai Valuev participated, though unfortunately for him, it ended with the first defeat of the Russian Giant.

The very appearance of Nikolai Valuev in the professional boxing ring is, in my opinion, a challenge and at the same time an original and fun task for the whole boxing world. So think, let the wheels turn in your head and strain all your reflexes honed over the years of training, dear gentlemen boxers, in order to defeat not a boxer, but a huge man. Who, due to his dimensions, cannot do much of the stuff that you can, but has a really impenetrable head located somewhere really high, and huge hands, which, although they do not hit like your strong and fast hands do, but they can quite force you down to knockout. The task all this time seemed impossible, at least for those opponents who entered the ring with Valuev, but Ruslan Chagaev proved today that it is possible after all to solve it.

Today I caught myself sympathizing and even somewhat cheering for Nikolai, although there was more of both towards Chagaev - as a professional and a person who knows his place.

However, Nikolai Valuev is actually a good person. He found the strength to tell the coach that Chagaev was better after the eighth round, he did not look happy waiting for the verdict of the judges, as 90 percent of boxers in the world do regardless of how the fight turned out. Valuev has nobility and he deserves respect for that. But not only. How much has been said and written about him (on the Internet, for example), how many nasty things. Why? Only because he is so huge and earns money from it (and has others earn money from him). He is not a boxer - we all lament, although 99 percent of us are not boxers either and would not have survived even one blow from a 100-kilogram Chagaev. And he withstood all 12 rounds and until the end tried to knock out an opponent who was much better prepared tactically, technically, and by that time psychologically. He still did not go down, and although he let Rocky Marciano's record slip away from his fingers (a record which, indeed, should not have belonged to him) and lost his title in the first mandatory defense, he still deserves respect. I'd like to use this opportunity to apologize for all the unhealthy sarcasm that I allowed in my articles towards Valuev.

Now about the second hero of this fight, but not Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev's coach Manvel Gabrielyan has long attracted attention - it's not for nothing that all the TV people in the world put their microphones closer to Valuev's corner in between rounds. All the bullshit that he talks there is a separate song, but I cannot understand how a professional trainer can reduce all his game plan and tactics to the phrase "hit him", modifying it by the end of the fight to "kill him". It seems to me that Valuev's coach lost this fight, first of all by not preparing his boxer for a strong and fast southpaw, and, secondly, by failing to bring any adjustments during the fight.

The statements of Manvel Oganesovich are generally a separate circus, which we will soon touch on.

So, the boxers came out (Chagaev has Eminem's song for an entrance, Valuev something more melodic), anthems were performed, Don King waved his flags - the bell rings. The first round is quite cautious, but it is striking how collected and purposefully Chagaev attacks from a distance. He does not get into tight quarters, but uses his advantage - speed and maneuverability, stinging the Giant like a bee, and just as quickly flying back. Valuev tries to work with a jab, but doesn't have any opportunity to throw a right hand.

In the next rounds, Chagaev uses his left hand more actively and fires successful combinations from time to time, while Valuev still hesitates most of the time, which is easily explained. Each of his right hand strikes ends with catching counterattacks from the fast Chagaev. However, even standing in indecision, he does not avoid these attacks. Ruslan begins to gain significant lead on points.

Gabrielyan is calm for now, but asks Nikolai to throw his right more, in Chagaev's corner there is restrained optimism - "it’s good, but it can be better," says Artur Grigorian, who trains Ruslan.

After listening to the coach, Chagaev increases the pace and we see that he can really do better. Ruslan lands more and more often, from round 5 to 7 the Uzbek's upper hand becomes convincing. Both combinations and individual strikes get through, all this is done at a speed inaccessible to Valuev, and Nikolai himself simply does not know how to catch the opponent. And he doesn't know what to do with it either. Although Gabrielyan gives him good advice after the first half of the fight - "Punch him! Stop playing."

Nikolai spends the seventh round almost without punches, and after the eighth, in which Chagaev was again on top, he says to the coach: "He is better, I can't keep up with him." Gabrielyan reacts to this with a furious speech, trying to wake up the beast in the St. Petersburg boxer. You can only understand something like "he is a Chukchi" and "uppercut". Valuev listens to the coach with obvious irritation. The breaking point has already been reached. Nikolai realizes that he is facing an opponent he will not be able to beat that evening.

However, one must also give Nikolai props for his resilience and strong will. Another, 9th round was under the total control of the Uzbek, but then the Russian became noticeably more active. Of course, the coach's cries also worked, but more so the pride of an athlete, the pride of a champion, which Nikolai truly was (let's keep aside how, why and for what he became one). Championship rounds were more successful for Valuev than all the others. What also helped was that Chagaev somewhat lost control of himself, clearly on fire by the idea of ​​knocking out the Russian giant (since the party is getting wilder). Ruslan started entering tight quarters, but in response, Valuev's straight rights began to get through more and more often. Plus, Chagaev's stamina was also not unlimited, it was clear that he was tired. As for the Russian Giant, he was noticeably shaken in the 11th round from his own unsuccessful attempts to break through the opponent. Nikolai had practically no strength in him, but he made his incredible torso work until the very end.

Gabrielyan by this time completely loses control of himself and his human face too. Already in the course of the 11th round, he urges Kolya to "kill Chagaev." Before the last round, he gives a speech, which I, to the best of my ability, will quote in full (adjusted for censorship):

"Where is your head?", asks the coach. "You make me scream. If you don't kill him now, I'll hit you on the head. And then I'm leaving the ring..."

Here it is, the greatness of coaching mind, here it is, the triumph of self-control and sober calculation in a sport where everything is decided not by the strength of the skull, but also by what is inside it.

Valuev tried to avoid hitting the coach. He really tried to the end, but for the last minute he had neither physical nor any other strength in him. He was closer to falling, not even from Chagaev's blows, but from frustration and helplessness. At the same time, until the end, he tried to press Chagaev to the ropes and catch him, but Ruslan withstood all this with brilliance, while remaining the most sensible person in the ring (not counting the referee, but counting, of course, Gabrielyan).

Bell rings, and Ruslan begins to celebrate deservedly and contagiously, and Nikolai fairly wanders into a corner, not arguing with the upcoming verdict. Perhaps we can say that now everything has been lost, except for honor. Perhaps Valuev will even have more fans after this fight.

Well, Ruslan Chagaev will certainly have more of them. White Tyson defeated his Goliath and soared to the top of world boxing and the elite of the heavyweight division. He approached his task in a balanced, purposeful and competent manner. He learned from the mistakes of his predecessors (including the "losers on points" Donald and Ruiz), he anticipated possible new mistakes and also avoided them. He was ready to make adjustments during the fight and used all the variety of tactics. He withstood all the Valuev's pokes and delivered countless strong blows, which almost knocked the Russian Giant off his feet. He fought at such a level that no one would dare to steal the victory from him. He is a real champion who was the first to rise up to the challenge of the entire boxing world - defeat a real giant with his skill.[2]



Preceded by:
Valuev vs. McCline 		WBA Heavyweight Title Fight
# 85 		Succeeded by:
Chagaev vs. Skelton


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