By Mark Vester
The "biggest" championship bout in the history of the heavyweight division is set to take place this Saturday in St. Jakob-Halle, Basel, Switzerland, when seven-foot, 330-pound Nikolai Valuev (45-0, 33KOs) defends his WBA heavyweight title against six-foot-six Jameel McCline, who tips the scales at 270 pounds.
It's an interesting fight on paper because Valuev is used to fighting in bouts where he is a giant compared to his opponent, but not against McCline, the largest boxer Valuev has ever faced.
While Valuev is looking ahead by focusing on breaking Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record, McCline tells the Associated Press that Valuev should forget about Marciano because he is never going to make it to 46-0. McCline feels that Valuev is too slow and too mechanical to beat him.
"Valuev says I am the biggest, tallest fighter he has ever fought," McCline said. "He is mechanical and slow. That is my chance. My strength is my speed and my explosiveness. I am very optimistic I will be the first to beat him."
