Matthew Hurley – When Ruslan Chagaev, 23-0 with 17 KOs took the WBA heavyweight title from towering seven foot tall Nikolay Valuev in April the fighter out of Uzbekistan was giving up nearly eleven inches in height. Chagaev’s stocky build dictated that he find his way inside Valuev’s long reach but at the same time be clever enough to get out of range when the big man tried to force his weight on him. He used his southpaw stance to keep Valuev a bit off balance and came away with a majority decision..
Although Valuev, 47-1 with 34 KOs still remains something of a sideshow in the fight game Chagaev’s victory not only propelled him into the muddled heavyweight mix but also prevented Valuev from approaching Rocky Marciano’s sacred undefeated mark of 49-0 as heavyweight champion. Valuev’s run at the record was not entertained by the boxing community to any great degree but with Don King spouting off on it whenever he was promoting the fighter it came as something of a relief when Chagaev ended matters and put a loss on Valuev’s record.
Now the new WBA champion is set to make his first defense against Matt Skelton, 21-1 with 18 KOs in Dusseldorf, Germany on January 19th. Skelton, out of Bedford and the current Commonwealth champion, is looking to become the first Britain since Lennox Lewis to win a portion of the heavyweight crown. Chagaev, who sees himself as the ‘White Tyson’ because of his build and reverence for former champion Mike Tyson, doesn’t view Skelton as a legitimate threat, particularly after the challenger failed to turn up for a head-to-head press conference earlier in the week.
“Skelton was afraid to come to the press conference,” he told the assembled media. “He won’t be able to hide on Saturday and he will feel my strength then.”
As for his idol worship of Tyson he claims that Iron Mike is an inspiration because of their similar builds and the unbridled excitement Tyson brought to the sport.
“When I was a child I loved Mike Tyson,” he told the UK Mirror. “He was my idol and I was in awe of his raw power. When I started boxing, people in the gym said I had a similar body to him and that’s where my nickname came from. I’ve always wanted to be like him and to have the same success he had. I already have one of the belts and my goal is to unite all the versions of the heavyweight title and be the undisputed champion like Iron Mike used to be.”
At today’s weigh in Chagaev came in at 229.2 pounds while Skelton tipped the scales at 254.6 pounds. The weight disparity is nothing new for the WBA champion considering that he gave up nearly 100 pounds to Valuev in his title shot victory.
Skelton, who turns forty next week, told British correspondent Iain Axon after the weigh in that he’s ready to take the title from the champion.
“Training has gone really well,” he said. “I’m going back to the UK with the title. I’m ready to go to war if I have to. I’ve trained for twelve hard rounds and I feel in great shape.”
The twenty-nine year old Chagaev, after the obligatory stare down with his opponent, said, “I beat John Ruiz in Dusseldorf, so the city has happy memories for me. I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring and successfully defending my title.”
Chagaev – Skelton will be televised on Setanta Sports.
Weigh-In Results:
Ruslan Chagaev (104,0 kg) vs. Matt Skelton (115,5 kg)
Taras Bidenko (100,0 kg) vs. Cisse Salif (119,2 kg)
Denis Boytsov (101,0 kg) vs. Tommy Connelly (tba)
Egon Roth (107,0 kg vs. Sandor Forgacs (tba)
Vladimir Tereshkin (106,0 kg vs. Remigijus Ziausys (98,0 kg)
Jan Zaveck(66,6 kg) vs. Pietro d’Alessio (65,0 kg)