David vs Goliath
Date7 November 2009
VenueNuremberg Arena in Nuremberg, Germany
Title(s) on the lineWBA Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Russia Nikolai Valuev United Kingdom David Haye
Nickname "The Russian Giant" "The Hayemaker"
Hometown Saint Petersburg, Russia London, United Kingdom
Pre-fight record 50–1 22–1
Age 36 29
Height 7 ft 0 in (213 cm) 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 316 lb (143 kg) 217 lb (98 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA
Heavyweight Champion		 WBA
No. 4 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Haye wins via majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 116-112)

Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye, billed as David vs Goliath, was a professional boxing match contested on 7 November 2009 for the WBA heavyweight championship.[1]

Background

After regaining the WBA title with a unanimous decision over fellow former Champion John Ruiz, Nikolai Valuev had made one defence gaining a very controversial majority decision over Evander Holyfield,[2] he agreed to "Champion in Recess" Ruslan Chagaev, who had given Valuev the only defeat of career. However their fight on 30 May 2009 in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Arena, was cancelled when Chagaev was declared medically unfit after failing a Finnish medical test, allegedly due to hepatitis, although he would go on to face Wladimir Klitschko in June losing via a 9th round RTD.

Haye had moved to the Heavyweight division after he had unified the WBA, WBC & WBO cruiserweight titles against Enzo Maccarinelli, knocking out Monte Barrett in November 2008. He was first set to face WBC Champion Vitali Klitschko,[3] then Haye agreed to face his brother Wladimir, however he pulled out with a back injury and was replaced with Chagaev. [4]

In July Valuev and Haye agreed to meet in November, despite John Ruiz claiming that he had inherited the mandatory status from Chagaev as the next highest ranked contender.[5] He would later agree to face the winner of Valuev vs Haye.

The fight

Haye was able to outmove and outbox the much slower Valuev by using a circle, stick and move strategy, which would give a majority decision victory. Haye suffered a broken hand during the fight while hitting Valuev's head, saying it was like hitting a brick wall. The win made Haye the fourth Briton to win a major heavyweight title, after Bob Fitzsimmons, Lennox Lewis, and Frank Bruno, as well as only the second former cruiserweight champion to win a heavyweight title after Evander Holyfield.[6][7]

Aftermath

Valuev would retire after the fight, while Haye would agree to face Ruiz in a mandatory defence.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[8]

WinnerLoserWeight division/title belt(s) disputedResult
United States John Ruiz Turkey Adnan Serin Heavyweight (10 rounds) 7th-round TKO.
Puerto Rico Francisco Palacios United States DeLeon Tinsley Cruiserweight (8 rounds) 1st-round TKO.
Finland Robert Helenius Ukraine Taras Bidenko Heavyweight (8 rounds) 3rd-round RTD.
Belarus Siarhei Liakhovich United States Jeremy Bates Heavyweight (8 rounds) 1st-round TKO.
United Kingdom George Groves Belarus Kanstantsin Makhankou Super Middleweight (8 rounds) Unanimous decision
Germany Alexander Frenkel United States Kelvin Davis Cruiserweight (8 rounds) 1st-round TKO.
Austria Marcos Nader Italy Ciro Ciano Middleweight (6 rounds) Unanimous decision
Bulgaria Kubrat Pulev United States Gbenga Oloukun Heavyweight (6 rounds) Unanimous decision

Broadcasting

Country Broadcaster
 CanadaViewers Choice
 DenmarkTV2 Sport
 GermanyARD
 HungaryViasat 6
 PhilippinesSolar Sports
 PolandPolsat
 United KingdomSky Sports
 United StatesDirect TV

References

  1. ↑ "Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye - BoxRec".
  2. ↑ Giant Valuev did little to deserve victory over Holyfield, ESPN article, 2008-12-22, Retrieved on 2014-03-22
  3. ↑ "Klitschko camp confirm Haye fight". BBC Sport. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Wladimir Klitschko replaces injured David Haye with Ruslan Chagaev for 20 June fight – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (6 June 2009). Retrieved on 11 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Haye to fight WBA champion Valuev". BBC Sport. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Haye shocks Valuev to take title". BBC Sport. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Kevin (8 November 2009). "David Haye beat Nikolai Valuev despite suffering a broken hand". The Guardian. London.
  8. ↑ "BoxRec - event".
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