The Russian Giant

Size is an an advantage depending on the fighters involved
Plus the optimum word is partial.
He still lost his belt to a 210 pound fighter though.

 

Well obviously Haye chose to run and he just got away with it.
It's significant though that his 2 losses and possibly a 3rd against Holyfield were against the smaller heavyweights.

 

Like I say it depends on the fighters. Some small guys will have the ability to present the bigger guy with problems, some won't, I don't think it's absolute.
So did you fight as a pro or just the amateur game?

 

Size will always matter. It always has. But skill counts for more and always will.

Ergo, a big, skilled heavyweight will always do well in the division. Wlad for instance has done very well.
But also...he has had a size advantage over smaller skilled heavies like Byrd and a skill advantage over big but less skilled fighters like Wach or Thompson.

Yet, on occassion he has proven vulnerable.
Even with all his talents and gifts, he has had to play it smart because on any given day, anyone can lose. In his case, less-than-stellar opposition turned the trick.

Also, some huge heavies have still been knocked out, so no heavyweight no matter how big is too big to get knocked out.

 

It's size, skill , styles and age .. always has been .. when he was decisioned by Haye, Valuev was 35 plus and essentially defeated by a very well conditioned, fast opponent .. it happens ..

 

Larry Donald, Holyfield, and Haye definitely all beat Valuev, possibly more I just couldn't bring myself to watch him. He was big enough to make an inactive fight very close and often got the nod because of it. Punching him you could watch fighters gloves bounce off that giant dome of his.

For someone so large you'd expect him to have a little bit more power but he was so dang slow

 

I definitely agree that his size carried him in those and the majority of his fights. I believe the same is true for Wladimir and Vitali. If Wladimir was shorter his jab would be inaffective, he wouldn't be able to lay on his opponents in the clinch. Vitali's awkward style would be even worse if he was smaller, the hands down approach and awkward punches wouldn't be near as effective and he'd have been hit much much more and just been another generic awkward fighter.

That being said fighters use what was given to them, Valuev was clearly the less skilled of those 3 men and it showed but theres no questioning that size carried him to the title. He turned from a D+ skilled fighter into a champion because of that size