First Russian

Nikolai Valuev got a chance to become the first Russian heavyweight champion

Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev took the last step towards fighting for the world heavyweight title. Having defeated American Larry Donald on points on Saturday, Valuev became the official contender for the fight for the WBA championship belt, which now belongs to John Ruiz. The fight with Ruiz could take place as early as December 17 in Berlin. And if successful, Nikolai Valuev could become the first Russian professional world heavyweight champion.

However, the last fight of Valuev, who was nicknamed the Beast from the East in Europe, does not lead to rosy forecasts. His opponent Larry Donald, despite his rather impressive track record (42 victories, 24 of them by knockout, as well as three draws and three defeats), is known by and large only for the fact that last year he defeated elderly Evander Holyfield. And Donald himself is far from young - in three months he will turn 39 years old. And if we take into account that the American is 36 kg lighter and 22 centimeters shorter than Valuev, then a more solid victory could be expected from the Russian. Meanwhile, the referees recorded only a minimal advantage for Nikolai Valuev. Two of them gave the Russian victory - 117:112 and 114:113, while the third in his notes reflected a draw score - 114:114. The decision of the referees in general is not surprising: a lack of technique did not allow Valuev to win by knockout, and with such dimensions it is quite difficult to withstand all 12 rounds. So if this fight had taken place not in Germany, but in America, it is possible that Valuev’s professional career would have seen his first defeat. But he was lucky, and so far Nikolai’s track record only includes victories. The Russian already has 42 of them, 31 of them by knockout.

As part of the same boxing show evening, another Russian also entered the ring. Olympic champion of Athens Alexander Povetkin fought his third fight in the professional ring. However, Povetkin was not even allowed to warm up properly: his opponent John Castle was knocked out in the first round. Povetkin now has three wins in three fights, all by knockout. True, in the world of professional boxing they are still only taking a closer look at Povetkin and are in no hurry to place big bets on him. And Alexander himself is still getting his hands on the “bags”, creating decent statistics for himself for the future.

Closing the topic of heavyweight, we can’t help but mention Chris Byrd, who defended his IBF championship with a points victory over Devarril Williamson. Two arbitrators gave preference to Bird with a score of 116:112, one with a score of 115:113. But most likely all three regretted that they had to watch this fight all 12 rounds. Both boxers were so focused on defense that at times they even forgot to throw punches and move around the ring, greatly disappointing the audience. Even the referee could not stand it, warning both fighters for passivity. One way or another, Byrd achieved what he wanted and retained the belt. For how long will be decided by the team of the Klitschko brothers. It is possible that in the near future, Vladimir Klitschko, who is the official contender for title fights according to the IBF and WBO, will make an offer to Chris Byrd, whom he already beat five years ago.

Well, the most important event of the weekend in professional boxing was the return of Roy Jones Jr. The former undisputed world champion returned to lose again to Antonio Tarver. The same Tarver, with whose defeat the fall of Roy Jones began. In May 2004, Jones lost all five titles he owned to Tarver in one fight, and six months later he also lost to Glencoff Johnson. They said that Roy Jones must now leave. But a year later, on the contrary, he decided to return.

The return of Roy Jones was not a triumph, although it could not be called a failure either. Despite the fact that Tarver had an advantage during the fight, Roy Jones survived all 12 rounds, and did not finish the fight in the second round, as was the case a year and a half ago. And this is probably the most that the once great champion is capable of at the moment. So the judges’ verdict was quite expected - 117:111 and 116:112 (twice) in favor of Antonio Tarver.

It seemed that Roy Jones Jr. should end there. But the former champion said he could still return. “You might see me in the ring again,” Jones promised. - I am a champion, I can still come back. But I need to think. Today my task was to return to the ring and show that I am not going to leave boxing in disgrace. But you can't jump over your head. I did everything I could. I returned home and couldn't afford to lose like last time. I did what I could, I boxed. I was a real champion, and for a long time I had no equal. I'm not ashamed of what I did today. I'm happy with how I performed, but I understand that I lost this fight."

Andrey VDOVIN