Published: 27 July, 2009, 14:12
Edited: 27 October, 2009, 15:58
British heavyweight David Haye says he’s planning to knock out 2.13-meter tall Nikolay Valuev during their bout in Germany on November 7.
“I’ve watched Valuev over the years and I’ve watched men fight him and none of them tried to knock him out. It’s no secret that I like to knock out opponents and that is how I fight,” David Haye told Boxingscene.com.
WBA champ Valuev (50-1, 34 KOs) has never been knocked down or even seriously hurt during his professional career. The Russian suffered just one defeat in the ring – at the hands of Ruslan Chagaev, who won on points back in 2007.
“Valuev is extreme and it’ll take something extraordinary to take him down. Valuev is a big freak… and he’s unique for boxing. I am tiny in comparison, but then again all heavyweights are tiny in comparison with him,” 1.91-meters tall Haye explained.
Haye has some extraordinary methods to prepare for such a difficult opponent as the Russian Giant.
“I’ve been using a boxing glove attached to a broom handle to prepare for the Klitschko brothers. I’ll just have to get a bigger broom handle for this big guy. This is the biggest test of my boxing life but people are forgetting – it will also be the biggest test of his career. I still know how to use the ring and if I can stay away from his clumsy swings I can get to him.”
David Haye (22-1, 22 KOs) is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, who at one point possessed the WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring magazine titles, which he gave up to pursue his ambitions in the heavyweight division.
He was scheduled to face IBF and WBO champ Wladimir Klitschko on June 20, but the fight didn’t take place due to injury on Haye’s part.
During preparations for the bout Haye launched a PR war against the Klitschko brothers. He was seen wearing a T-shirt of himself holding the decapitated heads of Wladimir and Vitaly.
WBC belt holder Vitaly Klitschko was to become Haye’s next opponent, but the British fighter aborted the talks at the very last moment and began negotiations with Valuev’s team.