“I can’t sleep till I beat Chagaev“ – Valuev
Published 25 May, 2009, 14:54
WBA heavyweight champ, Nikolay Valuev, is losing sleep ahead of the May 30 bout with the only man, who ever defeated him, Ruslan Chagaev, German Bild newspaper reports.
“I’ll be able to sleep well again only after I beat Chagaev. I am sure I’ll avoid the mistakes I made in our previous fight,” the Russian Giant said.
Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs) and Chagaev (25-0, 17 KOs), nicknamed the White Tyson, first fought on April 14, 2007. The Uzbek boxer won on points to relieve the Russian of his WBA title. The return match was cancelled due to a Chagaev injury.
The Uzbek fighter was named ‘champion in recess’ after that. The 2-meter-13-centimeter-tall Valuev claimed the vacant belt after beating Sergey Liakhovich from Belarus.
However, Chagaev has received the chance to fight the reigning champion after recovering, but still claims that he is “the real champ.”
Chagaev prepares for Valuev in secrecy
Chagaev is preparing for the Valuev bout in secrecy, and Ruslan Chagaev is also training behind closed doors ahead of the fight, to be held in Helsinki.”We’ve separated ourselves from the whole world so that Ruslan could fully focus on the fight. Only his sparring-partners will be allowed to enter the gym,” Michael Timm, Chagaev’s coach, said.
Meanwhile, Chagaev said he’s well prepared for the fight, even better than the first time. And the Uzbek isn’t bothered by the fact that the match will take place in the Finnish capital, just a couple of hours’ ride from Valuev’s home town of Saint Petersburg.
”I am ready to fight Valuev in any place in the world. I’ll prove that I’m the real champion and I’ll beat Valuev,” Ruslan Chagaev said.
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