Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield explained

Fight Name:Valuev vs. Holyfield
Fight Date:20 December 2008
Location:Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
Titles:WBA Heavyweight Championship
Fighter1: Nikolai Valuev
Nickname1:"The Russian Giant"
Hometown1:Saint Petersburg, Russia
Record1:49–1 (34 KO)
Height1:7 ft 0 in
Weight1:310 lb
Style1:Orthodox
Recognition1:WBA
Heavyweight Champion
The Ring
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
Fighter2: Evander Holyfield
Nickname2:"The Real Deal"
Hometown2:Atlanta, Georgia, US
Purse2:$700,000
Record2:42–9–2 (27 KO)
Height2:6 ft 2 in
Weight2:214 lb
Style2:Orthodox
Recognition2:WBA
No. 13 Ranked Heavyweight
Former 2-division undisputed world champion
Result:Valuev defeated Holyfield via Majority decision (115-114, 116-112, 114-114)

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

Background

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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

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).[5]

The decision was controversial, with veteran announcer Nick Charles stating "That is the worst display of officiating I have ever seen."[6] 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."[7]

Aftermath

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

Confirmed bouts:[8]

Winner LoserWeight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
Francesco Pianeta Johann DuhaupasEBU-EU (European Union) Heavyweight ChampionshipUnanimous decision
Nadia Raoui Eileen OlszewskiWIBA World flyweight ChampionshipSplit Draw
Mads Larsen Roberto CoccoLight Heavyweight (10 rounds)7th-round TKO.
Oleg Platov Jason GavernHeavyweight (8 rounds)Unanimous decision
Jimmy Kapanov Paolo FerraraCruiserweight (8 rounds)Unanimous decision
Bermane Stiverne Lyle McDowellHeavyweight (8 rounds)1st-round KO.

Broadcasting

align=center Countryalign=center Broadcaster
TV2
ARD
Sport 1
Polsat
Integrated Sports PPV

Notes and References

  1. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-11-17/sports/0411170099_1_evander-holyfield-state-athletic-commission-suspension Holyfield is suspended by New York
  2. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2006-06-29-holyfield-comeback_x.htm Holyfield beginning another comeback
  3. https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3062051 Holyfield beginning another comeback
  4. https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3633482 45-year-old Holyfield, Valuev close in on agreement on world title match
  5. Web site: John Rawling . Holyfield calls for rematch as Valuev retains title in controversial result . theguardian.com . The Guardian . 5 February 2024 . 21 December 2008.
  6. Web site: Bryan Armen Graham . Holyfield-Valuev round-by-round blog . sportsillustrated.cnn.com . Sports Illustrated . 5 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081224053038/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/bryan_armen_graham/12/20/holyfield.valuev/index.html . 24 December 2008 . 20 December 2008.
  7. https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?id=3786752 Giant Valuev did little to deserve victory over Holyfield
  8. Web site: BoxRec - event.