Holyfield Sure Of Beating Valuev, Eyes Klichko Brothers

Nikolai Valuev (1973- ), WBA heavyweight boxing champ. Holyfield can beat Valuev and both the Klichko brothers too? I don’t think so! Evander is talking trash to drive up the purse. He’s a tomato-can compared to his Russian competition.

Moscow, 19 November 2008 (RIA-Novosti):

Former US world champion Evander Holyfield is sure of snatching the WBA heavyweight title belt from Russia’s Nikolai Valuev and has his sights on unifying the heavyweight division titles. The 46-year-old four-time world champion Holyfield (42-9-2, 27 KOs) will square off with Valuev, 35, dubbed The Russian Giant (49-1, 34 KOs), on 20 December in Switzerland. The BoxingScene.com website said Holyfield, who has not been in the ring in almost a year, expressed his plans to unify all four heavyweight division belts. “My goal is to be undisputed champion and not just to win the one title”, the website reported quoting Holyfield as saying.

The 7-foot (2.13-meter) Valuev was more cautious in his forecast for the coming bout, calling Holyfield a very difficult opponent. “First of all, it is an honour for me to fight such a legendary boxer”, Valuev said. “Holyfield has vast experience and the fight against him will not be easy”. If the American, who lives and trains in Atlanta, Georgia, beats Valuev, he will become the oldest-ever heavyweight world champion. He would then have to meet the Klichko brothers, who hold the remaining heavyweight title belts. “I think people make too much about age. I haven’t fought in a year, but, I will be ready”, Holyfield said. Vladimir Klichko (51-3, 45 KOs) currently holds the IBF and WBO titles, while his older brother Vitaly Klichko (36-2, 35 KOs) holds the WBC belt.

Holyfield, who is reportedly paying up to 500,000 dollars (13.785 million roubles. 397,050 euros. 335,900 UK pounds) a year in child support for nine of his 11 children from previous marriages, said earlier that he was planning to hang up his gloves in 2009 after the bout with Valuev, which he viewed as an additional source of income. Valuev became Russia’s first world heavyweight champion in December 2005 when he defeated Ruiz. Last year, he was just a few steps behind the record of legendary Rocky Marciano, who retired at 49-0 as boxing’s only-ever undefeated heavyweight champion, but, lost his title bout to Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev from Uzbekistan, suffering his first and only, as of today, defeat.

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/sports/20081119/118402997.html (in English)