Nicolay Valuev, the 7ft tall Russian Heavy weight champ, was beaten for the first time last night. He lost to Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan.

Here are some clips of Chageav in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br4vmwM8yYw&mode=related&search=

And here is a report on the fight:

http://www.fightnews.com/schiffbauer08.htm

By all accounts, Chagaev is a rare beast in todays heavyweight division: a fighter who can actually box.

He was the 1997 world amateur champion, beating legendary Cuban boxer Felix Savon in the final.

He was later stripped of his medal, having been found to have fought professionally for 2 contests before returning to the amateur code. Still, there are very few men who would beat Savon, amateur or professional. Savon was one of the very few Olympians in any discipline to win 3 consecutive Gold medals. Both of Chagaev's initial pro fights were only 4 rounders too, so he wouldn't really have had much benefit from them.

Anyway, just goes to show anyone can be beaten.

Valuev has no place in a heavyweight fight- he is a super-heavyweight (i know, I am a stuck record on this one, but the removal of the upper limit has killed the division).
I am glad he has been beaten as, quite frankly, he is not a particularly good technical boxer, and he has never punched his weight.

I am waiting with great anticipation to see how David Hay handles his move from cruiser to heavyweight. if he can maintain his speed and mobility (the chances are good, as he is a 'natural' heavyweight who has to struggle to make the cruiser limit), I anticipate great things from him.