Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield

Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield was a professional boxing match contested on 20 December 2008 for the WBA heavyweight championship.[1]

Valuev vs. Holyfield
Date20 December 2008
VenueHallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
Title(s) on the lineWBA Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Russia Nikolai Valuev United States Evander Holyfield
Nickname "The Russian Giant" "The Real Deal"
Hometown Saint Petersburg, Russia Atlanta, Georgia, US
Purse $700,000
Pre-fight record 49–1 (34 KO) 42–9–2 (27 KO)
Age 35 years, 3 months 46 years, 2 months
Height 7 ft 0 in (213 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 310 lb (141 kg) 214 lb (97 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
WBA
No. 13 Ranked Heavyweight
Former 2-division undisputed world champion
Result
Valuev defeated Holyfield via Majority decision (115-114, 116-112, 114-114)

Background

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After only winning two of his last nine fights, including a three fight losing streak at the end (going 2–5–2 from 1999 to 2004), four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield was suspended indefinitely by the New York State Athletic Commission amid health concerns following a poor performance against Larry Donald in which the then 42-year-old Holyfield was nearly swept by Donald on all three judge's scorecards.[2] Following the suspension, Holyfield was out of boxing for 21 months before announcing his return in June 2006 to take on Jeremy Bates in August of that year.[3] Holyfield would win the first four fights of his comeback and eventually landed a world title shot against WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov on October 13, 2007, but lost by a lopsided unanimous decision.[4] Holyfield would take a year-long layoff, but eventually accepted an offer from WBA heavyweight Nikolai Valuev to challenge him for the title on December 20, 2008.[5] Valuev was in his second reign as WBA heavyweight champion, having defeated John Ruiz to claim the vacant title in his previous fight. As in virtually every fight he had been in, the 7 foot, 310-pound Valuev had a distinct size advantage as he was ten inches taller and nearly 100 pounds heavier than Holyfield. Holyfield accepted a pay day of around $700,000, his lowest purse for a heavyweight title fight and a far cry from the record $35 million he had earned for his second fight against Mike Tyson. This would mark the first time Holyfield had contested the WBA belt since his third fight with John Ruiz in 2001.

The Fight

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Though the fight was largely uneventful and featured no knockdowns, Holyfield narrowly missed making history by winning his fifth world title and becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history (surpassing George Foreman) and instead lost to Valuev by a closely contested, and disputed, majority decision. Holyfield kept his distance from Valuev for most of the fight but appeared to clearly outpunch Valuev, who did not sustain much offense during the fight. Nevertheless, when the fight went to the official scorecards, one judge had Valuev winning by a score of 115–114 (six rounds to five, one even) and the second had a score of 116–112 (eight rounds to four), while the third had the fight even at 114–114 (six rounds apiece).[6]

The decision was controversial, with veteran announcer Nick Charles stating "That is the worst display of officiating I have ever seen."[7] ESPN's Dan Rafael wrote "you can make more of a legitimate argument that Holyfield won all 12 rounds than you can make one that Valuev claimed at least seven to take the fight." [8]

Aftermath

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Valuev would go on to face former unified cruiserweight champion David Haye, losing via a majority decision and retiring three days later.

Holyfield would continue on for three more fights before finally retiring just before he turned 50, therefore this fight marked the final world title bout in his long career, 22 years, 5 months, 9 days after his first against Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight title in July 1986.

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[9]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
  Francesco Pianeta   Johann Duhaupas EBU-EU (European Union) Heavyweight Championship Unanimous decision
  Nadia Raoui   Eileen Olszewski WIBA World flyweight Championship Split Draw
  Mads Larsen   Roberto Cocco Light Heavyweight (10 rounds) 7th-round TKO.
  Oleg Platov   Jason Gavern Heavyweight (8 rounds) Unanimous decision
  Jimmy Kapanov   Paolo Ferrara Cruiserweight (8 rounds) Unanimous decision
  Bermane Stiverne   Lyle McDowell Heavyweight (8 rounds) 1st-round KO.

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
  Denmark TV2
  Germany ARD
  Hungary Sport 1
  Poland Polsat
  USA Integrated Sports PPV

References

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  1. ^ "Nikolay Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  2. ^ Holyfield is suspended by New York, Baltimore Sun article, 2004-11-17, Retrieved on 2014-03-21
  3. ^ Holyfield beginning another comeback, USA Today article, 2006-06-29, Retrieved on 2014-03-21
  4. ^ Holyfield beginning another comeback, ESPN article, 2007-10-14, Retrieved on 2014-03-21
  5. ^ 45-year-old Holyfield, Valuev close in on agreement on world title match, ESPN article, 2008-10-08, Retrieved on 2014-03-21
  6. ^ John Rawling (21 December 2008). "Holyfield calls for rematch as Valuev retains title in controversial result". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  7. ^ Bryan Armen Graham (20 December 2008). "Holyfield-Valuev round-by-round blog". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  8. ^ Giant Valuev did little to deserve victory over Holyfield, ESPN article, 2008-12-22, Retrieved on 2014-03-22
  9. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Nikolai Valuev's bouts
20 December 2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by Evander Holyfield's bouts
20 December 2008
Succeeded by