by James Slater – According to a number of sources, WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, all seven-foot of him, will face none other than Evander Holyfield at the end of the year, in Germany. A number of quite disturbing questions spring to mind when analysing this match-up..
Number one, how on earth can the WBA hope to maintain credibility when they can sanction such a fight? “The Real Deal,” as we know, has not won a fight since June of 2007 – that victory coming against non-contender and fellow veteran Lou Savarese – so how is it fair for the four-time heavyweight champion to jump ahead of more deserving contenders? Number two, will anyone want to watch the fight? A curiosity of a freak show the December 20th bout may be, and as such the “action” doesn’t figure to play out in front of an empty arena, but no real boxing fan worth his salt will pay a bean to watch this.
And question number three, why is Holyfield risking his health by fighting again and by tackling such a monster as he does so? No, Valuev, despite his enormous size, is no murderous puncher, but he has stopped 34 of his 50 opponents and Holyfield is a badly deteriorated fighter. Make no mistake, by fighting again at his advanced age and while such a faded force, the all-time great is pushing his luck big time.
In his last fight, the clear points loss to Russia’s Sultan Ibragimov, Evander looked an old man. His then trainer, Ronnie Shields, said that had his fighter been in with a bigger puncher that night he would have been KO’d, and that he should retire. Instead of listening to Shields and a vast number of other people, however, Holyfield goes back in with the biggest guy out there in “The Russian Giant.”
Not only has Holyfield virtually no chance of winning in December (at least in this writer’s opinion), but he also runs the risk of being embarrassed and hurt. Really, there is so much to dislike about this fight one article is not enough to list all that is wrong with it. Valuev, who regained the WBA belt in his last fight, a rematch with John Ruiz, after having lost it to current “champion in recess” Ruslan Chagaev, may well get his 35th stoppage against the worn out, disillusioned former cruiserweight and heavyweight legend.
If you can bring yourself to watch the fight, look for Valuev to pound what is left of the Atlanta, Georgia native into the canvas in around 7 or 8 rounds.