Nikolay Valuev: Who’s Next For The “Beast From East”?
WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, (45-0, 33 KO’s) would seem to be at this point in time, the most popular of the 4 heavyweight champions, and the one that the boxing public, wants to see fight. So far, everyone is waiting to see who Valuev selects, with many of boxers considering it was potential lottery, if they our lucky enough to be the opponent for Valuev.
Outside of the other heavyweight champions, Wladimir Klitschko, Shannon Briggs and Oleg Maskaev, there really isn’t too many fighters to get excited about, in terms of potential bout with Valuev. Of course, that hasn’t stopped Valuev before, has it?
Since winning the WBA heavyweight title, a 12-round majority decision over John Ruiz, on December 17, 2005, Valuev has twice defended his WBA title, stopping Owen Beck, in the 3rd round on June 3rd, 2006, and Monte Barrett, knocking him out in the 11th round on September 7, 2006.
Neither of these guys are what you would consider a top 10 guy, yet Valuev chose to face them. I think you get the picture.
In looking over the rest of the top ranked WBA boxers, there’s a few that might have a shot at a fight with Valuev, which I have listed below.
Hasim Rahman - (41-6-2, 33 KO’s) Regardless of Rahman’s recent knockout loss to Oleg Maskaev on August 12, 2006, Rahman remains one of the top heavyweights in the division. Unfortunately for him, Maskaev just seems to have his number, though. However, Rahman still has considerable power, with an excellent jab, and would be a very tough fight for Valuev.
In fact, I see his style being possibly too tough for Valuev to contend with, and would have to give him an excellent chance at beating the Russian. That said, if Rahman gets overly aggressive and tries to knockout Valuev, I can see it backfiring on Rahman, with the likelihood that he would be knocked out by the huge 7-foot Russian.
No doubt, this would be a tough fight for Rahman, particularly because he’s become accustomed to being the larger fighter, using his weight on his smaller opponents. Against Valuev, the tables would be turned, forcing Rahman to turn into a boxer. That, I think, is a good thing, since Rahman has can control a fight with his jab, when he wants to.
Prediction: Rahman by 12-round decision.
Alexander Dimitrenko - (24-0, 14 KO’s) This, too, would be a very tough bout for Valuev to win. Dimitrenko, though young, at 24-years old, he’s tall, 6′7″ with long arms, fast hands, a powerful jab, and has the ability to fight well both on the inside and outside. Along with that, Dimitrenko is very atheletic and has good foot work, including superb stamina.
In many ways, he’s resembles an improved version of Wladimir Klitschko, although with slightly less power. In his last bout, Dimitrenko won an easy 12-round decision over the tough journeyman, Billy Zumbrun, on November 18th, 2006. Besides his outstanding jab, Dimitrenko has a powerful uppercut, a new weapon that he has recently learned, and is now using to deadly perfection.
In the near future, if he can continue developing that punch, I see Dimitrenko as potentially being the top heavyweight in the division. As it stands, I see him now in the top 5. He does, however, have a problem with controlling his emotions, in that he tries too hard to retaliate when he takes shots.
He needs to learn to step back and be more strategic, using his jab to break down his opponents, before unleashing his entire arsenal. Still, he uses his jab well, throwing it constantly, without showing fatigue. Against Valuev, if Dimitrenko stays on the outside, I see him easily winning the fight.
However, that would be difficult for him to do, likely, for I think he’d probably get over-eager and try to slug with Valuev on the inside. In the end, I see Valuev catching him with a big shot, possibly in the later rounds, after Dimitrenko starts to fade.
Prediction: Valuev by 10th round KO.
DaVarryl Williamson - (23-4, 19 KO’s) For a heavyweight, Williamson is slight of build, weighing only 220 lbs, yet he more than makes up for it with his powerful right hand. In addition, he’s very awkward, making it difficult to properly time him, something Wladmir Klitschko found out in his bout with Williamson, in October 2004.
Williamson has the most trouble, it seems, with fighters that come out full bore, throwing knockout punches from the opening bell.
Williamson was stopped by Joe Mesi, in the 1st round in September 2003, largely due to Mesi’s all out attack. Since then, however, Williamson, 38, has been tough, winning 5 bouts and losing to Wladimir Klitschko, whom, he knocked down in the 4th round, and then losing to Chris Byrd, in October 2005.
Unfortunately for Williamson, he seemed completely uninspired in this bout, as did Byrd, as if they were trying to take it easy on each other. Nevertheless, Williamson rebounded from the loss, and recently stopped a top prospect, Mike Mollo (17-1, 11 KO’s) in the 4th round, in May 2006. I see this as being an easy bout for Valuev to win, partly due to his huge size advantage over the slender 220 lb Williamson.
Besides that, since Williamson often forgoes using his jab, in hopes to knockout his opponents, he gives up on one of his better weapons. Valuev’s chin is too good to be knocked out by Williamson’s right hand, no matter how good it is. With Valuev having the ability to take Williamson’s best shots, I’d have a hard time seeing the reverse. Over the course of the bout, Valuev’s heavy shots on the inside would be too much, and I see him stopping Williamson by mid point in the fight.
Prediction: Valuev by 6th round knockout.
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Posted November 28th, 2006 l 107 views
