Even the renowned boxing fans of Bethnal Green's York Hall had never seen
anything quite like it.
Straddling the top rope less out of showmanship than simple necessity, the
'Beast from the East' unfurled his vast frame before their eyes.
Standing 7ft tall and weighing in at a scale-breaking 23 stones, Nikolai
Valuev's notoriety was secure even before the first bell sounded.
Valuev's opponent that night in 1996, the positively compact 6ft 2in
Carmarthen journeyman named Darren Fearn, blinked up somewhere beyond the ring
lights at the size of the task in hand.
Fearn did not reach the end of the third round on a low-key card which also
offered the British debut of a much-hyped Puerto Rican heavyweight called John
Ruiz.
On Saturday night in Berlin, to the particular surprise of Frank Maloney, the
promoter who briefly looked after the interests of both men and was responsible
for bringing them to Bethnal Green, Valuev and Ruiz meet with the WBA
heavyweight title at stake.
"He can't fight but he's a freak of nature who intimidates people," said
Maloney of the 32-year-old Valuev, who has won all 42 of his previous
well-matched professional contests.
"The way the heavyweight division is at the moment he is big enough to win
something. He could become the next sensation of the division simply because of
his novelty value.
"I remember when one of my agents in Russia told me about this so-called
'Beast from the East'. From the moment I saw him, I knew I could do something
with him."
Valuev's progress to date has been greeted with the peculiar kind of passing
interest usually reserved for circus strong men and other human oddities.
In November 2004, the luckless Gerald Nobles, a whole foot-and-a-bit shorter
than his giant opponent, seemed to have good cause to protest when he was
disqualified for firing repeated low blows.
Were he to beat Ruiz, Valuev would make history as the tallest and heaviest of
all the world boxing champions, comfortably beating the previous record of 6ft
7in, 19st Primo Carnera, and boasting an extraordinary 10-stone weight advantage
over Rocky Marciano.
Yet Valuev's size and almost inevitably lumbering style will always attract
more comparisons with the tragic, ridiculed Carnera than with those greats of
history such as Marciano.
Carnera was the ruthlessly exploited Italian who was plucked from his peasant
upbringing by mobsters who bullied and bribed him all the way to the world
heavyweight title.
Once his reign was over, having been contemptuously dismissed by Max Baer,
floored 11 times in as many rounds in their 1934 title fight, Carnera was
abandoned back into poverty.
It is against such a weight of history that Valuev must battle to establish
himself as a genuine and deserving world title claimant irrespective of the
outcome of his fight against Ruiz.
Valuev's best wins to date came with stoppages of reigning European champion
Paolo Vidoz and fading fringe contender Clifford Etienne, plus a majority
verdict over Larry Donald in his last fight.
Yet observers have noted that, for all his physical attributes, Valuev is no
human wrecking ball, but like Carnera a relatively soft and ponderous puncher.
Still, despite largely dismissing Valuev's abilities, Maloney believes the
Russian is easily capable of beating the brawling, bustling, 6ft 2in Ruiz.
"Valuev looks like he is the right man at the right time and I'm sure he will
be much too big for Ruiz, who is the champion by default," added Maloney.
Having long since separated from Maloney and teamed up with the German
promoter Wilfred Sauerland, Valuev will expect some degree of popular support in
Berlin's Max Schmeling Halle.
Incidentally, the great German champion Schmeling would have been forced to
give away almost 10 stones and a foot in height had he prepared to face Valuev
in his prime.
However, Carnera's sad story suggests Valuev too is destined to remain a
carnival act first, a world champion second.
As the 7ft 1in NBA basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain once conceded: "Nobody
ever cheers for Goliath".
FIGHTER OF THE WEEK: Ross Minter, son of former world middleweight champion
Alan, who looked highly impressive in claiming the English welterweight title
against Brett James in London this week.
LEGEND OF THE WEEK: Tommy Burns, the shortest world heavyweight champion in
history at just 5ft 7in, who held the title for three years including eight
straight knockout wins before losing it to Jack Johnson in 1908.
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook
