Weight confused

Despite the referee's error, Nikolai Valuev became world champion

The Russian boxer finally regained his title, albeit temporary, but still world heavyweight champion. In Berlin, Nikolai Valuev won on points against American John Ruiz - 116-111, 116-114 and 114-113. But in order to become a full-fledged holder of the WBA belt, Valuev will have to prove his superiority in a fight against the “temporarily inactive champion” Ruslan Chagaev, which could take place before the end of the year. Considering that both boxers chose Germany as the center of their sports careers, Valuev should no longer count on the favor of local referees.

Two weeks before the fight, John Ruiz complained that it was the judges who deprived him of his victory over Valuev three years ago and gave the world title to the Russian. After yesterday's fight, the American was again dissatisfied with the referees. “I guessed that in Germany they wouldn’t give me the victory on points. But it's still amazing. I was better than Valuev today. But I was sued, just like three years ago,” Ruiz was indignant immediately after the fight. The situation was fueled by a mistake by one of the judges. Japanese referee Takeshi Shimakawa initially gave the victory to the American - 114-113, but later explained that in the last round he mixed up the lines and gave points to the wrong boxer. The fact that Valuev is almost 40 kg heavier than Ruiz and almost a head taller did not help the Japanese to identify the winner. However, the referee who awarded an unconditional victory to Valuev - 116-111, may also have been confused in the notes throughout the fight - the Russian did not have such an advantage.

In every fight, Nikolai Valuev is expected to undergo a magical transformation. It seems that a little more, and the Russian giant will improve its technology and will put pressure not only with its dimensions. He actually lost a little weight and gained speed as a result. The jabs with which he scores points have become clearer. But hopes for miraculous changes disappeared after the fourth round. What followed was the usual fight for Valuev, in which his opponent has only one chance - to wear down the Russian through movement and, by closing the distance, hope for a knockout blow.

Ruiz did it all. But at 36 years old it’s already difficult to jump around the ring all 12 rounds non-stop. In the middle of the fight, the American still had a slight advantage, but in the 10th and 11th round he himself could have found himself on the floor, but he survived until announcer Michael Buffer entered the ring, who announced the results of the fight, and had the right to count on the favor of the judges . “Indeed, the fight did not turn out the way we would have liked,” Nikolai Valuev was dissatisfied with himself. “But we can meet again and fix everything.”

It is unlikely that the Russian seriously intends to give Ruiz another chance for revenge. Initially, Valuev was preparing for a fight with Ruslan Chagaev, but the fight was postponed twice due to illness, and then because of an injury to the Uzbek champion. But it seems that Chagaev himself is already striving to defend against Valuev - after all, he has proven in practice that he can cope with a giant. In any case, these two will share the WBA belt for a long time, and then defend it, and they are still far from meeting other champions.

The Klitschko brothers decided to hold the remaining titles. The youngest of them, Vladimir, the IBF and WBO world champion, still cannot agree on a defense against the official challenger, Russian Nikolai Povetkin. The rights to fights between two boxers belong to two German TV channels competing with each other, and they have not yet found common ground. However, both sides do not yet want to hold an auction, which is held in such cases, and have taken a couple more weeks for negotiations.

So fans of the Klitschko brothers are now following Vitali more. His return to the professional ring after an almost four-year break is scheduled for October 11. All this time, Vitali Klitschko was considered an honorary WBC champion. But in a month in Berlin he will try to take the real title from Samuel Peter. Last week, Vitaly promised that three or four rounds would be enough for him to knock Peter out: “I promise that the fight will not be easy, but it won’t come down to counting the judges’ notes.” Peter, in turn, doubted that Vitaly would even enter the ring, and would not refer to some injuries or circumstances and refuse the fight. But just in case, he addressed his opponent: “You say that you are a champion, but you are not. You can't be called a champion until you beat me, but you can't do that."

But in any case, not a single current title holder, nor temporary and honorary champions, and not a single official challenger can yet lay claim to collecting all the prestigious belts in one hand. The heavyweight division has been waiting for a real hero for many years now.

Andrey VDOVIN