Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye
Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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
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]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 John Ruiz
|
 Adnan Serin
|
Heavyweight (10 rounds) | 7th-round TKO. |
 Francisco Palacios
|
DeLeon Tinsley
|
Cruiserweight (8 rounds) | 1st-round TKO. |
 Robert Helenius
|
 Taras Bidenko
|
Heavyweight (8 rounds) | 3rd-round RTD. |
 Siarhei Liakhovich
|
Jeremy Bates
|
Heavyweight (8 rounds) | 1st-round TKO. |
 George Groves
|
Kanstantsin Makhankou
|
Super Middleweight (8 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
 Alexander Frenkel
|
Kelvin Davis
|
Cruiserweight (8 rounds) | 1st-round TKO. |
 Marcos Nader
|
 Ciro Ciano
|
Middleweight (6 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
 Kubrat Pulev
|
Gbenga Oloukun
|
Heavyweight (6 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
Broadcasting
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Canada |
Viewers Choice |
 Denmark |
TV2 Sport |
| Germany |
ARD |
 Hungary |
Viasat 6 |
 Philippines |
Solar Sports |
 Poland |
Polsat |
| United Kingdom |
Sky Sports |
| United States |
Direct TV
|
References
- ^ "Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye - BoxRec".
- ^ Giant Valuev did little to deserve victory over Holyfield, ESPN article, 2008-12-22, Retrieved on 2014-03-22
- ^ "Klitschko camp confirm Haye fight". BBC Sport. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Haye to fight WBA champion Valuev". BBC Sport. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "Haye shocks Valuev to take title". BBC Sport. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ Mitchell, Kevin (8 November 2009). "David Haye beat Nikolai Valuev despite suffering a broken hand". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "BoxRec - event".