The great Russian, Nikolai Valuev, hammered America’s Monte Barrett in a bout that lasted eleven rounds to keep hold of his WBA heavyweight title that he won against John Ruiz. Valuev, who is 33 years of age, stands at an extraordinary seven foot and weighs an incredible 23 stone – which makes him the biggest heavyweight champion of all time.
He put his much shorter opponent to the canvas twice before Barrett’s trainer finally stopped the contest into the later half of the 11th round. The referee formally stopped the bout two minutes and twelve seconds into the 11th, which took Valuev’s unbeaten record to 45 wins of which 33 have come by way of knockout. Valuev is one of four Russian professional boxers to hold major belts, the others being Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev and Sergei Liakhovich.
Although he got quite a battering, 35-year-old Barret was definitely a worthy opponent as he beat ex-IBF and WBA heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon back in 2001, although he was knocked out against Wladimir Klitschko a year earlier.
Even though he’s not the most entertaining of boxers, the great Russian looks to be taking to heavyweight division by storm. Please leave your thoughts and comments at the bottom of the page.
