Valuev-Lyakhovich: Nikolai Hoping To Get Another Title Shot

By Boxing News - 02/13/2008 - Comments

By Jim Carran: Previously unbeaten World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev (47-1, 34 KOs) will attempt to line himself up for another title shot on Saturday night when he goes up against former World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich (23-2, 14 KOs) in Nuremberg, Germany. If the 7-foot 320 lbs Valuev can get by Lyakhovich, while will likely be no easy task, Valuev will be in line for a title shot at current WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev, who took Valuev’s title in a close majority decision win last year. However, Lyakhovich has vowed to make Valuev work hard on Saturday night, hoping to tire him out like he was against Chagaev, a bout in which Valuev seemed to fade in the later rounds of the fight.

It’s unclear how well Lyakhovich will look, though, having been out of the ring since September 2006 when he lost his title in a 12th round stoppage by Shannon Briggs. If Lyakhovich is in good condition, and mentally into the fight, he can be a very formidable opponent for a big lumbering fighter like Valuev. Lyakhovich has power and boxing skills, perhaps even better than Chagaev, and excellent size, at 6’4″, which makes him someone that Valuev can’t afford to overlook. In his bout with Lamon Brewster in 2006, Lyakhovich showed a lot of heart, as he was forced to get up off the canvas after being knocked down by the hard-punching Brewster

Neither Valuev or Lyakhovich are particularly good fighters from a distance, both showing their best stuff when in close where they land hooks and uppercuts. Lyakhovich, however, can fight at a distance when he wants to, but he seems to prefer to get inside, negating his size, and try to outwork his opponents. Against Valuev, this will be a mistake for Lyakhovich, should he stick to this game plan, because he will run into one of Valuev’s big clubbing shots and possibly get knocked once again.

In his bout with Brewster, Lyakhovich failed to listen to his trainer when he told him to stay away from Brewster. Though Lyakhovich eventually won the fight, his tendency to slug on the inside with Brewster almost cost him the fight. I see Lyakhovich making the same mistake against Valuev, only this time Lyakhovich will be stopped.