By Sammy Rozenberg
The heavyweight division has a new "Beast" of a champion. Nicolay "Beast from The East" Valuev (44-0, 31KO) managed to overcome the hug and tug style of John "Quietman" Ruiz (41-6, 28KO) to capture the WBA heavyweight title before a roaring hometown crowd at the Max Schmeling Hall in Berlin, Germany. The fight was close, but Valuev's display of boxing skill was enough to persuade two of the three judges to score a majority of the rounds in his favor. Judge Derek Milham had it 116-114, judge Hector Hernandez had it 116-113 and Francisco Martinez scored the fight a 114-114 draw.
There were no knockdowns in the fight and most ringside observers felt it was a very difficult fight to score. Ruiz made an uncharacteristic fast, aggressive start and used his speed advantage to beat Valuev to the punch. As the fight went on, Ruiz appeared to slow down and lose his aggressive nature. Valuev was able to keep Ruiz at bay by boxing well from the outside and using his left jab to keep distance between them.
When the two fighters locked up, Valuev was more than strong enough to overpower Ruiz on the inside. The decision got a mixed reaction from the near sold out Max Schmeling Hall. Ruiz´s trainer Norman Stone was so upset about the scoring that he took the WBA heavyweight belt and tried to run out of the ring with the title. One of Valuev´s cornermen jumped on Stone and a physical altercation escalated. Ringside security guards pulled the two men apart and restored order.
As a result of his victory, Valuev made boxing history. He became the tallest and heaviest world boxing champion in history of the sport. Valuev gives new meaning to the phrase - size does matter. He weighed 324 pounds for the fight and is seven feet tall.
The height and size of Valuev, will provide an abundance of problems for smaller heavyweights like James Toney and Chris Byrd. The heavyweight monsters of the ring like Jameel McCline, Wladimir Klitschko and Lance Whitaker - are considered huge in comparison to most of the division, but look tiny when sized up to Valuev.
Wladimir Klitschko, one of the largest men in the division and stands at 6'6, had no idea that one day he may come across a heavyweight fighter with a 6-inch height advantage, and outweighs him by almost 80 pounds. The physical dimensions of Valuev will put fear in the hearts of most opponents.
For years, Valuev was regarded as sideshow freak that would never amount to anything in the sport. After less than spectacular performances against Larry Donald and Gerald Nobles, most felt that he would be never amount to anything bigger than a heavyweight curiosity. The curiosity factor may carry Valuev over as a star in the United States. As the case in any sport, athletes of larger physical stature seem to create a buzz among the fans.
The promoters, Don King likely gaining some options tonight and being one of them – are going to have to sell Valuev strictly on his physical advantages if they want to turn him into an overseas star. Valuev is not the most charismatic athlete in his own country, he won’t become more charismatic in the Untited States.
Ruiz, in his last fight lost a unanimous decision to James Toney and retired shortly after the fight. The decision was overturned by the WBA , as a result of Toney testing positive for using steroids. After Toney was stripped of the title, Ruiz came out of retirement to become reinstated as the WBA heavyweight champion. There is no official word if John Ruiz plans to once again retire or continue his career.
On the undercard:
The chief support saw female boxing sensation Laila Ali put on a poor performance, but still managed to wear down Sweden´s Aasa Sandell to score a fifth round stoppage. Ali was very sloppy in the way she stalked her taller opponent, but Sandell wore herself out with an amateurish display of excessive movement and wasting a lot of power punches. There was an obvious difference in class between the two female pugilists.
Cruiserweight Marco Huck decisioned American Michael Simms after eight rounds of action. Oleg Platov stopped Stephane Tessier in four rounds. Norwegian jr. middleweight Nikita Dubunin pitched a 6 round shut out over brave but limited Czech fighter Petr Rykala.
Don King´s Croatian heavyweight Mario Preskar stopped Ervin Slonka in the final round of their six-rounder.
In attendance: “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali, still loved by the crowd, former Ali-opponent, Jurgen Blin, Henry Maske, Sven Ottke, Markus Beyer, Arthur Abraham, Ray Joval and Henry Akinwande.
(Special thanks to BoxingScene correspondent Per Ake Persson, who attended the live event.)
