What happened to Valuev on HBO?

Valuev would destroy Toney the Phoney.

Maybe Valuev couldn't fight in the U.S. but that doesn't explain why he didn't fight good competition. Danny Williams and both Klitchco's were over fighting in Germany too. He was actually could have fought one of the Klitchco's 4 years ago but he chose not to. I think that Valuev had only 30 amature fights before he turned pro. I think that he was still learning for a good part of his career.

That has me thinking, who will be the third man for the HBO team? Manny will be in Wlad's corner, and no way Roy goes over there (I wouldn't think)...it'll probably be just Lamps and Merchant I guess... ya it will be. what happened to george foreman he get fired frm hbo? i thoguth roy got fired also but he just did pac-morales. i miss foreman :(

I actually saw Valuev fight back in 1998 as part of the televised undercard to Oleg Maskaev's TKO over Courage Tshabalala. I can't recall which cable network broadcast it though. Anyhow, Valuev fought a fairly competent journeyman heavyweight in James Gaines & won a 6 round decision over him. Dropping him once along the way. And yes, Valuev DID appear just as massive as he's touted to be. He's most definitely the largest boxer I've ever seen. I remember being surprised that they actually found a glove that would fit him. As for his skill level, it was technically correct, but very slow, deliberate & robotic ( though I hesitate to use the term because I think it tends to be quite overused when describing european fighters, but in this case it's accurate ). It was more than enough to defeat poor Gaines though, because he had absolutely no clue how to deal with Valuev's size & reach. Valuev's power was nothing exceptional though. I mean, his hands had the natural "heaviness" that one would expect from a fit athlete of nearly 400 lbs, but he had no snap to his shots, so they lacked the real concussive force of a true KO puncher. As I said, that was seven years ago & Valuev has had about 25 additional fights since that time. So, I'm sure he's improved quite a bit. Whether it's enough for him to actually be a true world class fighter, I can't say. He's certainly beaten a better class of fighter over the past couple of years than I ever expected him to, but whether that's more attributed to his opponents puzzlement at how make any use of their own offense or whether he's actually developed skills, I can't say. At 40-0 though, I would imagine that he's rapidly closing in on the "crap or get off the pot" stage of his career. So, if he gets past "The Black Rhyno" like everyone expects him to, I'd expect to see him on television in the US sometime soon.

Here is what I read: Valuev could not fight in the USA due to the judgment against him for failure to perform - he could not get a visa to USA or something like that. So his USA management company got a judgement on him that he owes them a bunch of $$ and cannot fight in the US unless they manage it. Recently Valuev's lawyers sued the company and the judgment is no longer in effect so Valuev can fight in the USA now for the first time in something like 10 years. Personally I don't think that anybody from top 10 will ever fight Valuev until he becomes a mandatory. I also read that he had a back injury and that is why his fight was postponed. Maybe Valuev couldn't fight in the U.S. but that doesn't explain why he didn't fight good competition. Danny Williams and both Klitchco's were over fighting in Germany too. He was actually could have fought one of the Klitchco's 4 years ago but he chose not to.

Here is what I read: Valuev could not fight in the USA due to the judgment against him for failure to perform - he could not get a visa to USA or something like that. So his USA management company got a judgement on him that he owes them a bunch of $$ and cannot fight in the US unless they manage it. Recently Valuev's lawyers sued the company and the judgment is no longer in effect so Valuev can fight in the USA now for the first time in something like 10 years. Personally I don't think that anybody from top 10 will ever fight Valuev until he becomes a mandatory. I also read that he had a back injury and that is why his fight was postponed. Good info and great avatar... Saturday's fight wouldn't be in the US though, the fights are taking place in Germany, which is also where his fight on May 14 vs. Etienne is scheduled to take place...oh well, it's always fun to talk about Valuev since I've never seen him (other than photos)...for the sheer entertainment value I wanted to see him plod around the ring dwarfing some hopeless, hand-picked opponent--and to hear Lamps and Merchant talk about him... That has me thinking, who will be the third man for the HBO team? Manny will be in Wlad's corner, and no way Roy goes over there (I wouldn't think)...it'll probably be just Lamps and Merchant I guess...

Here is what I read: Valuev could not fight in the USA due to the judgment against him for failure to perform - he could not get a visa to USA or something like that. So his USA management company got a judgement on him that he owes them a bunch of $$ and cannot fight in the US unless they manage it. Recently Valuev's lawyers sued the company and the judgment is no longer in effect so Valuev can fight in the USA now for the first time in something like 10 years. Personally I don't think that anybody from top 10 will ever fight Valuev until he becomes a mandatory. I also read that he had a back injury and that is why his fight was postponed.

Valuev is a disgrace fighting the likes of a shot, chinless fighter like Ettiene for his 41st fight. He´s the definition of a protected prospect waiting for a big payday. Watch Klitschko fight him after he beats Rahman. Awesome post! If this guy was any good, he would have already competed against top-20 competition, but he hasn't, so he's obviously got a team around him who knows how lousy he really is This is eerily similar to the Brian Nielsen situation from the late 90's, a guy who fights overseas, pads his record vs. has-been's and never-were's, then expects millions of dollars and a title shot, what a joke!

I want to see Toney fight him! Toney would need a step stool

And who are you to judge? You want to be his promoter and give him a title shoot? A fighter does not make his own fights... Perhaps none of the big promoters picked him up.. and he wights who he can.

Valuev is a disgrace fighting the likes of a shot, chinless fighter like Ettiene for his 41st fight. He´s the definition of a protected prospect waiting for a big payday. Watch Klitschko fight him after he beats Rahman.

I thought HBO was going to do a night of young heavyweights like they did a couple years ago. I thought Peter was going to be on the show too. Valuev has been beating the type of guys that real fighters only fight in their first 5-10 fights. He is 40-0 against that class of fighter. If you watch some of Vilaly Klitsckos first 10 fights, you can see that he could have gone about 1,000,000 - 0 against that type of competition.

i'm interested in finally seeing the guy... i've been hearing about him for years... but with 40 fights, he should have already been fighing guys like etienne... he should be fighting the top contenders... he can't hang with any Top 10 heavyweight right now. Because of his size, he has a chance at a longshot KO, but he's not very quick and isn't going to win too many rounds against someone with a lot of skills. The good thing is, it's going to take A LOT to put this guy down, so he's got 12 rounds to pull something out...

Well, I just read on fightnews.com that Valuev has a proposed matchup against Clifford Etienne on May 14 in Germany. I wish we could see this one Saturday night with the Wlad fight, it would ease my pain of not being able to afford the ESPN PPV... Valuev KO 1 Etienne in roughly 1 minute... You haven't seen Nicolay fight yet have you?

i'm interested in finally seeing the guy... i've been hearing about him for years... but with 40 fights, he should have already been fighing guys like etienne... he should be fighting the top contenders...

Yepp, I think Valuev is ready for the big time, he is 40-0, its time to hype him up to the American public. "The beast from the east", what a great way to promote a fight. If Valuev beats a few other fighters I would love to see any of the current champions fight him.

Well, I just read on fightnews.com that Valuev has a proposed matchup against Clifford Etienne on May 14 in Germany. I wish we could see this one Saturday night with the Wlad fight, it would ease my pain of not being able to afford the ESPN PPV... Valuev KO 1 Etienne in roughly 1 minute...