Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev (, ; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2005 and 2009. Standing at a height of and a peak weight of , Valuev is best known for being the tallest and heaviest world champion in boxing history.
Biography.
Valuev was born on 21 August 1973, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). He is of ethnic Russian descent, but he also had a Turkic Tatar grandfather. Although his own parents are short—both tall—his Tatar great-grandfather has been described as "of mountainous proportions" and "a warrior giant of Russian folklore." His own size and appearance are due to gigantism complicated by acromegaly. Valuev has three children, daughter Irina, son Grisha (Grigoriy), and third child, son Sergei (born 30 July 2012). In his professional boxing career he was defeated only twice, by Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye.
Valuev is a Russian Orthodox Christian. During his youth he played water polo and basketball.
Valuev has written a book in Russian called "My 12 Rounds", with the help of prominent Russian sports journalist Konstantin Osipov. The book discusses his life in general and his boxing career in particular. For that book, Valuev received an award from the government of Saint Petersburg. The book was presented in Saint Petersburg on 5 February 2007.
In January 2006, Valuev was accused of assaulting a security guard at the Spartak Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg. No criminal investigation was launched by local police.
Amateur career.
Highlights.
Russian National Championships (+91 kg), Saint Petersburg, Russia, May 1994:
Goodwill Games (+91 kg), Saint Petersburg, July 1994:
Valuev is one of a few boxers to try to resume his amateur career after the original pro debut.
Professional career.
First reign as WBA heavyweight champion.
In 2005, Valuev squared off with WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz, and won a twelve-round majority-decision, becoming both the tallest (2.13 m or 7 ft) and heaviest (323 lbs) champion in boxing history. In his first defence he defeated challenger Owen Beck (25–3, 18 KOs) by a third-round technical knockout in Hannover, Germany. In October 2006, Valuev fought Monte Barrett and defeated him with a technical knockout in the 11th round. In January 2007, Valuev fought Jameel McCline (38–6–3, 23 KOs) in St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland. Valuev won the match, successfully defending his title, after McCline was not able to continue the bout after injuring his knee when throwing a punch near the end of the 3rd round.
Valuev vs. Chagaev.
The title defence was held on 14 April 2007. Chagaev defeated Valuev by a majority decision (117–111, 115–113 and 114–114).
Valuev changed trainers, from Manuel Gabrielian to Alexander Zimin, who coached the old Soviet Union amateur boxing team. On 29 September 2007, Valuev won against Jean-Francois Bergeron in Oldenburg, Germany, by a 12-round unanimous decision (118–111 on all three cards).
Second reign as WBA champion.
Valuev vs. Liakhovich.
On 16 February 2008, in a title eliminator, Valuev defeated former titleholder Siarhei Liakhovich, winning every round at the Nuremberg Arena in Germany. The victory earned Valuev the right to face Chagaev for the WBA title again, the only man who had defeated him in his boxing career. He was scheduled to face Chagaev for his WBA title on 5 July 2008, but Chagaev pulled out with an injury. Valuev instead fought John Ruiz for the vacant title on 30 August 2008 and the WBA decided to make Chagaev "Champion In Recess". Valuev defeated Ruiz by unanimous decision to regain the WBA heavyweight championship, with Valuev and Chagaev set to fight no later than 26 June 2009 to determine whom the WBA regarded as their champion. Their scheduled rematch on 30 May 2009 was cancelled due to Chagaev's viral infection and on 24 July 2009, when the WBA published their Official Ratings as of June 2009, Chagaev was no longer the "Champion In Recess" but the No. 1 challenger instead.
Valuev vs. Holyfield.
Valuev's first title defense of his second reign as WBA Champion was against the 46-year-old, four-time heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield, on 20 December 2008. Before the match, Valuev weighed 310.8 pounds (141 kg), nearly 100 pounds heavier than Holyfield at 214.3 pounds (97 kg). After a rather uneventful match with no knockdowns and few punches thrown by either fighter, Valuev won a widely disputed majority decision. In response to the controversial result the WBA announced plans to investigate the decision.
Loss to Haye.
In his second defense on 7 November 2009, billed as "'David vs. Goliath"', Valuev faced off against former unified and lineal cruiserweight champion David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung in Nuremberg. Valuev lost on points (114–114, 116–112, 116–112).
Retirement from boxing and health problems.
Valuev announced his retirement from boxing in a Russian newspaper three days after the loss to Haye on 10 November 2009.
In 2010, Valuev's doctor went on record saying that he is treating Valuev for "serious bone and joint problems". Valuev underwent two operations that required at least six months on the sidelines.
Valuev confirmed in 2013 that medical advice was one of the reasons he is not planning to make a comeback in boxing.
Valuev is one of five heavyweight champions to have retired without having suffered a stoppage loss during his career. The others are Gene Tunney, Rocky Marciano, Riddick Bowe and Sultan Ibragimov.
Personal life.
Acting career and advertising.
Valuev's first role in a film was a cameo appearance in the German film "7 Zwerge – Der Wald ist nicht genug" in 2006. In 2008, Valuev played the main role in the film "Stonehead" by Philip Yankovskiy, playing an ex-boxer who lost his memory. The film took the main prize at the film festival "Window to Europe". After the success of "Stonehead", it was announced Valuev is being filmed in two new films at the same time.
Valuev has participated in several photo and video advertisements of various products and services. In November 2009, he signed a promotional contract with a German sausage manufacturer, making Valuev the face of the company's advertisement campaign for five years. Nikolai Valuev is also planning to open a family restaurant in Germany. In August 2010, Valuev signed a promotional contract with the Pokerstars poker portal.
Valuev's distinctive appearance and fame have occasionally attracted the use of his images in advertising without his permission. In particular, a cinema in Penza, which for some time before screening a film, had an advertisement where Valuev acts as a man who punishes the audience disturbing others. Valuev, upon learning about this, sued the cinema for damages amounting to 2 million rubles. In 2011, Valuev was involved in the advertising power of "Interskol" as well as in advertisements with MTS.
In August 2016 Valuev became a presenter in “Good Night, Little Ones!”, Russia’s long-running TV program for small children.
Political career.
In December 2011 Russian parliamentary election, Valuev became a member of the State Duma through the United Russia Party. On 17 December 2012, Valuev supported the law in the Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the US.
Following the IOC's decision to suspend Russia from participating in the Olympics under its flag due to the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal, Valuev said that Russia should go to the Olympics and "tear everyone apart to spite these bastards who want to kill our sport."
Involvement in other sports.
In 2011, Valuev became the general manager of the Russia national bandy team, and is tasked with developing the sport in the country. He is also the Vice-President of the Russian Bandy Federation. Bandy is considered a national sport in Russia.
Nikolai Valuev Boxing School and Youth Sports Foundation.
In 2009, Valuev, together with a group of coaches, created the Nikolay Valuev Boxing School, with offices in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast. The school is divided into three types of age groups: pupils (school terms 3-5), students (terms 6-8) and adults. School pupils participate and compete in various boxing matches, including the "Valuev Cup" youth boxing tournament, which became a regular competition in Saint Petersburg.
The Valuev Youth Sports Foundation opened on 14 September 2010. The fund was established to promote regular physical exercise among young people to enable children of different social backgrounds play sports, to further their education and strengthen the principles of sport, as well as spread the ideals of sports into other areas.