Giant former two-time world heavyweight champion, Nikolai Valuev, once revealed the hardest punching opponent that he ever shared the ring with.
It was in December of 2005 when Russia’s Valuev defeated John Ruiz via majority decision to capture the WBA world heavyweight title at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin. That night he became the tallest and heaviest world champion of all time, standing at 7ft and weighing 333lbs at his peak.
Valuev made several successful defences of his crown before he was dethroned by countryman Ruslan Chagaev, suffering the first defeat of his career in the process.
He became a two-time world heavyweight champion in August of 2008, defeating America’s Ruiz once again to capture the vacant WBA title at the exact same location of his first world title triumph several years earlier.
He then lost the belt to David Haye in November 2009, in what proved to be the final bout of the giant Russian’s career, ending his campaign with 50 wins, 2 defeats and 1 no contest.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, Valuev revealed two-weight undisputed champion Evander Holyfield as his hardest hitting opponent, sharing details of how ‘The Real Deal’ broke his ribs when they clashed in the penultimate bout of his career in 2008.
“He was one of my toughest fights. He kept hitting me to the ribs and fractured one of the ribs. I couldn’t breathe properly for a month. It was very unorthodox, it was a punch up close, where he kept throwing hooks on the inside. It was very hard to defend against.”
Valuev defeated Holyfield via majority decision to make the first defence of his world title in his second reign. Although the American legend was quite clearly past his formidable best at the time of their bout, most felt he did enough to win.
At the peak of his powers, ‘The Real Deal’ was widely considered to be one of the best fighters on the planet, defeating the likes of Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Riddick Bowe throughout the course of his professional career. From 44 wins, he scored 29 stoppages.
