by David P. Greisman
When Nicolay Valuev steps between the ropes – well, actually, when he steps over the ropes and into the ring – he may have the size – all seven feet and 324 pounds of it – but does he truly have what matters?
With a majority decision this past weekend over John Ruiz, Valuev gained the WBA heavyweight title, but the prize may end up being fool’s gold if the “Beast from the East” takes the path of least resistance in title defenses.
But despite his towering looks and a body that could fight for post position with Shaquille O’Neal, Valuev has yet to display much beyond the crude skill that a schoolyard bully uses to hold his smaller brethren at bay.
Valuev’s main weapon is a jab, jutted out from such a high angle as to force vigilance upon his opponents, who may otherwise yearn to lower their hands. He extends it, keeping it out for a prolonged period, as if to hold his foe’s head at a far enough distance that they can wail away without touching him, while simultaneously presenting himself enough room to throw the occasional, highly telegraphed right cross.
He does not have the kind of power generally perceived to accompany his bulk, his speed is nonexistent and he appears unwilling to assert himself in a manner that will intimidate anyone hoping to chop him down.
Yet Ruiz was unable to play the lumberjack, despite his initial, unusual burst of aggressiveness and combination punching. For a majority of the twelve-round bout, Ruiz appeared tentative, like a man confronting a daunting mountain, planning his ascent, but leaving too late to get far past his base camp.
Ruiz’s task received no assistance from Valuev’s tendencies, with the latter pushing away “The Quiet Man” whenever Ruiz worked his way inside, and Valuev leaning his weight on the smaller man and clinching. How ironic that the king of jab-and-grab was defeated at his own game.
Valuev’s victory, though, may not represent his capabilities, as the giant may yet be more Primo Carnera than prime contender.
The spectacle over Valuev – boxing, for once, was mentioned on television’s daily gabfests – is representative of the same line of thinking that plagues the quality of action in the WWE, where larger, overly-muscled men perform awkward brawls with the occasional gimmick maneuver, while those closer to six feet, highly athletic and full of creative talent, are written off as incapable of competing or headlining for the company.
People tend to ride the bandwagons of the bigger men, despite indications – Lennox Lewis aside – that the big men are no big deal, that the shorter, fitter heavyweights are more likely to be champion. The oft-parroted company line, after all, is that Muhammad Ali was 6’3” and usually weighed between 210 and 225 pounds.
Nonetheless, Valuev is now a beltholder until someone can remove that distinction from him, an effort requisite of a pugilist willing to travel overseas to contend against an oversized opponent in front of a hostile, adopted hometown crowd.
Paging Lamon Brewster.
Brewster, the only titleholder of the four in his division to hold relative momentum, spent his 2005 squashing 6’4” Andrew Golota in a Chicago arena full of cheering Polish throngs, and then crossing the pond and entering Germany to knockout 6’3½” Luan Krasniqi, another European fighter with a string of German appearances.
At a squat 6’1”, Brewster takes delight in launching left hooks at the right sides of the bodies and heads of men with a supposed size advantage over him, and in his biggest wins he has shown a will to put himself in harm’s way in order to unleash punishing blows.
The match-up depends on whether the long-desired heavyweight tournament ever comes to fruition, or if Valuev will feast on patsies, also-rans and never-weres, adding the seven victories needed to eclipse Rocky Marciano’s perfect 49-0 record. And if Valuev chooses the aforementioned path of least resistance, will his belt become enough of a paper title that the remaining three champions can fight for unification without a public outcry for a hero to slay the Beast?
When Nicolay Valuev next steps between – excuse me, over the ropes and into the ring – will he finally have the skills and might to coincide with his height, will he create thrills and cheers that are comprised of reasons beyond his size, or will he be another gimmick, transforming from “the next big thing” into “no big deal.”
The 10 Count
1. With another bout in which neither contestant showed the kind of competitive fire expected from a fighter to dominate and win the match and a championship belt, it was, for once, refreshing to know that the WBA title meant enough to Ruiz’s trainer and manager, Norman Stone, that he would grab the trinket from the triumphant Valuev and incite an in-ring scuffle. Stone is plenty of things – the terms annoying and disruptive come to mind – but he at least brings a different brand of color and passion to the sport.
2. Sticking with the heavyweights, Dan Rafael reports that Calvin Brock has signed to face journeyman Zuri Lawrence on the undercard of February’s Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas pay-per-view. Lawrence upset Jameel McCline in October, was knocked out by prospect Sultan Ibragimov six months prior, and for the most part has played the role of opponent over the length of his career. That being said, Lawrence will be the third straight tune-up for Brock, whose last big showing was a unanimous decision in April over McCline. Brock had been rumored to be in negotiations to face David Tua, but rumors being rumors, “The Boxing Banker” needs change, having seemingly lost his momentum, lacking a name opponent that will bring him back to the big time for the first time since he came off the canvas to beat “Big Time” McCline.
3. The aforementioned Sultan Ibragimov knocked Lance “Goofi” Whitaker goofy this past Thursday, sending him to the canvas thrice and then forcing him to quit on cuts in the seventh. While Whitaker hasn’t had a notable victory since knocking Oleg Maskaev out in early 2001, his is the biggest name on Ibragimov’s ledger, giving the Russian his fifth victory this year and bringing him into the public eye as a possible contender who likes to give fans bang for their bucks.
4. On the same card, Samuel Peter attempted to bring back his confidence while honing his skills, earning a ten round decision over the durable Robert Hawkins. After losing to Wladimir Klitschko in September, Peter seems temporarily lost in the heavyweight scene, unsure of who he will be fighting and when. While the dropped decision to Klitschko showed that Peter had a good chin, he has yet to demonstrate an ability to skillfully do anything aside from launch wide bombs. Tune-up bouts are nice, but until Peter shows that he can win against opponents outside of the lower tiers, he will remain an unproven commodity with untapped potential.
5. Warriors Boxing, the promoter behind the show with Peter, Ibragimov and Whitaker, has recently signed light heavyweight contender Glencoffe Johnson to a three fight deal. Johnson is currently slated to headline a February show against the always-active TBA, a keep-busy fight for an active warrior that few in his division can keep up with. Since knocking out Roy Jones Jr. and splitting two fights with Antonio Tarver, Johnson has been rejected in his calls to Tarver for a rubber match, and stuck in the precarious position of once again needing to go on the road and overseas to face the 175-lb. paper champions, a situation that would once again make the aptly-nicknamed “Road Warrior” vulnerable to victimization at the hands of dubious decisions.
6. Quote of the week: On a conference call for his January fight with Zab Judah, welterweight Carlos Baldomir said, “I think the weakness for Zab is he cannot take a good punch in the chin. I definitely think I can put him down.” Quite a lot of confidence for Judah’s mandatory opponent, considering that Baldomir has only 12 knockouts in his 41 wins.
7. Former cruiserweight titlist Juan Carlos Gomez has tested positive for cocaine, bringing into question his October outpointing of Oliver McCall. While Gomez denies using cocaine, insisting that his urine sample was either incorrect or tampered with, the results could complicate the Cuban defector’s attempts to immigrate into the United States, and may cause a two-year ban from the sport.
8. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. eked out a six-round draw with Carlos Molina, the first blemish on the record of the still-green teenager. While some may criticize Chavez for the result, one must be reminded that the kid is essentially receiving his amateur instruction through professional competition, and that the draw may actually provide more of an opportunity to learn a lesson than yet another easy victory on pay-per-view over a ham-and-egger.
9. Eric “Butterbean” Esch won his first mixed-martial arts match, improving to 1-1-1 by forcing his opponent, who was similarly new to the sport, to submit to a front choke. I’m glad I didn’t bet on the results, as, were I a betting man, I would have laid money down on the oh-so-cruel Yokozuna crushing sit-down submission.
10. Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward will grace the cover of the Fight Night Round 3 video game, which is due to be released in February 2006. The past two boxers to receive the honor, Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins, subsequently lost their titles, falling victim to the supposed EA Sports curse that also afflicts athletes in other sports. Ward may be retired, but Gatti fights Thomas Damgaard toward the end of January, and is coming off of a one-sided beating at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of all the sports in which the video game developers could upset superstitious athletes, people who make their living with their fists would worry me the most.