British challenger David Haye insists he will be the first fighter to knock out WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev today.
The brash Briton has only a handful of heavyweight fights under his belt since stepping up from cruiserweight, but insists he will put the 2.13m Russian, who tips the scales at around 145kg, on the canvas at the Nuremberg Arena.
Having described Valuev as a “circus freak,” Haye has taken every opportunity to trash-talk the champion, but the Russian insists he will use the British challenger’s words as motivation.
PHOTO: AFP
Valuev labored to a majority decision win over Evander Holyfield in his last bout in December and is regarded as a safety-first fighter.
Haye is a hard-puncher, with 21 knockouts from 22 fights, the vast majority of which were at cruiserweight, but today’s fight will be a huge test of both his stamina and strength in dealing with a heavier and taller opponent.
With typical bravado, however, Haye insists he will be Valuev’s worst nightmare, having already dreamed about putting the Russian on the canvas.
“He hasn’t fought anyone of my caliber — he’s never fought anyone in their prime or someone so fired up,” the 29-year-old said. “I’m not one of these guys he’s used to fighting. I’m not over the hill, I’m not tainted, I’m not past my sell-by-date. I’m fresh, I’m ready.”
Haye has a point.
Valuev has fought just four times since the only defeat of his career to Ruslan Chagaev in April 2007.
All of his opponents — Holyfield, John Ruiz of the US, Belarusian Sergey Lyakhovich and Canadian Jean-Francois Bergeron — took him the full 12 rounds and his last knockout win was against Monte Barrett in October 2006.
Having regained his WBA title this summer after Chagaev was stripped of his belt, however, Valuev insists he is in no mood to relinquish his title.
“His comments have been very motivating, but let’s see what Haye has to offer inside the ring,” the 36-year-old said.
This is Haye’s first shot at a world heavyweight title after moving up a weight division and is a step into the unknown against Valuev, who is 23cm taller and nearly 40kg heavier.
The British fighter has been sparring with his trainer wearing 15cm-high boots to prepare for the height disadvantage he will face.
Valuev’s manager Wilfried Sauerland, however, has posed key questions about Haye’s confidence.
“I don’t know where he [Haye] gets his confidence from,” Sauerland said. “He is untested at heavyweight and got knocked down a lot of times in his career. Now he is facing a proven champion with 50 victories, so I really wonder why he is so optimistic.”
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