Should we judge Valuev by his crap performance against Holyfield? I mean, isn't he better than that. Yes, he's had crap performances against Larry Donald, John Ruiz (1st time), and Ruslan Chagaev. Plus, defenses against unworthy opponents in Owen Beck and Monte Barrett. However, he did look good against Liakhovich and better in the rematch with Ruiz. Could the Holyfield bout be seen as a bad night for Valuev, a performance we can forgive him for if he gets back to doing good? At this point, it seems that everyone hates him and he's the worst champ ever. :conf
Well, he is pretty crap. I dunno. Who do you think has faster hands prime for prime - Valulev or Roy Jones Junior?
Same as before. He actually has some boxing talent for a big man. Holyfield clearly exposed the fact that Valuev had absolutely no answer for his movement. Only time will tell if other fighters will have the same success... or if Valuev corrects that flaw.
Exactly what did you guys expect Valuev to do with that dancing fool? Couldn't catch him. He constantly came forward. He jabbed when Holy would occasionally stop dancing. What would your strategy have been if you were Valuev, given his awkward footwork?
My strategy? If Holyfield rushes you with shots then don't back off. You've got a great chin, there's no need to flinch away, just stand your ground and answer back with your own shots. You have to make him back off, if you're the one that keeps doing it then people will think Holyfield's shots are having a heavy effect. There's no need for you to be afraid of his power, not when you have a chance to fire back yourself. Also don't be afraid of taking long steps. You're a huge man, you don't have to just shuffle forward all the time. If Holyfield tries to escape from a corner take a big step to the left or right to intercept him, don't just rotate your body in place and start shuffling forward again as you were also doing. When close up on in the clinch, whack the body. Forgot the jabs to the head, you were missing those all night long, jab the chest and stomach and thump in as many hooks to the ribs as you can in the clinches before they're broken. When you need to jab, do like you did in the Liakhovich fight - double and triple jabs, all thrown hard. Not singles, or the feint-jab you did a lot. Commit to those jabs and thud them out.
The only reason Valuev exists on the boxing landscape is the pitiful state of the heavyweight division. Even if he improves, he wouldn't ever have what it would have taken to be a contender in the 70's. He would have been just a big joke. Now, he's a contender among an obese middleweight, several pudgy Russians, a glass jawed champ, his brother who quit a fight while winning, a totally skilless Nigerian, and a whole assortment of has beens, never wheres, and never gonna be's.
I agree with this. Chag barely beat him, and from the sound of it, Holy beat him by in a more decisive manner (outcome aside), so I still see him as I did. Good for such a big guy, but a moving, highly skilled, fast smaller man with a decent chin can beat him. Even a 46 year old one.
Always sucked and will forever suck. This guy is a complete fraud, they pick the easiest options for him over and over and over and he needs obvious straight in the face robberies to make it through.
His strategy should be to join pro wrestling, where predetermined outcomes are acceptable. He has no answer for a real boxer.
I would just love to see a fight between him and Wlad. It would be something else to see someone that big go down. Just imagine the noise he would make when he hits the canvass.