Thursday 5 November 2009 12:02, UK
We look back at what David Haye, Nikolai Valuev and just about anyone else has said about their showdown.
The best soundbites in the build-up to David and Goliath
"I do a lot of talking but when the bell goes, I do a lot of fighting." David Haye said it - and has been saying it ever since his fight with Nikolai Valuev was confirmed. The time for talking though, is almost over as David and Goliath looms ever larger. But just in case you missed the verbal sparring between the challenger and champion, we have pulled together the best soundbites from the build-up. There are also pearls of wisdom from the Sky Sports team, as well as boxing greats like Ricky Hatton, Freddie Roach and Lennox Lewis, on a fight that has got the world's tongues wagging... "The one thing I'm not looking forward to is getting into clinches with him, because he's so hairy. It's disgusting!"David Haye kicks off the verbals when the fight is confirmed and finds a perfectly good reason not to get too close to Valuev - as if giving away 10 inches in height and six stones in weight wasn't enough. "I am sure Niko will gratefully accept this task. It will be a battle of David against Goliath but this time, Goliath wins."
Valuev is said to be an accomplished wordsmith out of the ring, but can he really re-write the Bible? Promoter Kalle Sauerland thinks so. "Now I've been eyeball to eyeball with him and seen the arena, it makes it all that much more real in my mind."
Not strictly true, unless he had a step ladder to hand, but Haye remains unfazed as the pair meet up for the first time in Nuremberg. "There is absolutely no problem with the Valuev-Haye bout. Everything has been sorted out. We have struck a deal with Team Ruiz for him to step aside. Our attorneys are just putting it in writing."
John Ruiz was the mandatory challenger to the WBA but in boxing that counts for little, as Sauerland's Chris Meyer reveals. And besides the American has already had two pops at Valuev - and lost them both. "I love winding people up, when they are wound up it puts me in the zone. If they come in there swinging, trying to knock me out, it gives me the openings to land my trademark Hayemaker."
Haye launches his two-point plan and the first part is no problem. Getting close enough to clobber a man with a seven-foot reach might not be so simple. "We parted ways because of the political situation and contacts in Russia - he's got away from all them now. I didn't fancy waking up to find my breakfast had been poisoned!"
Frank Maloney once had Valuev on his books - and coined the nickname Beast from the East - but sensibly stepped aside when his homeland came calling. "A lot of people try to muscle up when they fight this big guy but my thing is all about speed and agility, and by putting on bulk or fat like some recent fighters like to do, I don't think that will benefit me in any way."
But as ever, Haye is confident he can pull it off. Win or lose in Nuremberg you know one thing: he is going to look good when he climbs into that ring. "When I saw him at the press conference, I was a little more nervous! But to be honest I still think he will beat him. David is about 15 or 16 stone and if you get it on the chin with 15 stone, it doesn't matter how big you are, you're going to go down."
Ricky Hatton is no stranger to big-time boxing - or bulking up for that matter - and he believes that Haye can actually become the first man to fell the Russian giant. "All the money has been on Haye to win inside the distance and for him to deliver that knockout blow to bring the giant Valuev down."
The smart money is going on a Haye victory, says Sky Bet's Scott Springgay. But where's the sensible money headed? Have these people not seen the size of Valuev? "But he's boxing against a guy who weights a lot more than him and is way taller than him, so he has an uphill battle - but he does have the talent to do it."
If there is one man who knows how to become heavyweight champion of the world it is our own Lennox Lewis. And he believes we have finally found the successor to his throne. "It's difficult to get a decision win in Germany but I don't think that should bother David. His mind should be set on just out-boxing this guy and taking him to school."
Another of the British heavyweight fraternity, Danny Williams, gets behind our boy, but reminds us that David is actually going into the lion's den after all. "The fact that we are sitting here now talking about the heavyweight world title again, with a British fighter as well, says it all. I think we're on the verge of something very exciting."
It's been a long time since Britain has had big heavyweight title fight to tuck in to and Nicky Piper is licking his lips at the prospect. "I think Haye will tire towards the end because he has a lot of size to push away. Haye is a good boxer, no doubt about that, but I believe that Niko will take care of business."
'King' Arthur Abraham, the undefeated German is in no doubt that the belt will stay with Valeuv. Who just happens to be his Sauerland stablemate. "I need him to come out swinging and I need him to come out there and really want to hurt me and really try and rip my head off."
Mission accomplished - again - for Haye. Be careful what you wish for, though... "Once he has exploded a few of his big shots he will be waiting to see what sort of reaction they get from Valuev. And if it has none at all, well, that is going to be very, very disheartening - especially for a guy who can punch like he can."
Glenn McCrory once made the move up from cruiserweight world champion to heavyweight and he can't see how Haye dent that huge frame. With or without the hair. "If David wins this - and he will - I think he will be the most marketable fighter Britain's ever had, I really do, because of everything about him; the way he looks, the way he carries himself, the things he says... you can't predict what he's going to do."
Trainer, manager and friend Adam Booth has the future mapped out already. There's just the small matter of winning this fight to sort out first. "Nikolai Valuev might well be used to going 12 rounds but I could not train for a year and stand there punching for 12 rounds if you came to me."
Johnny Nelson is not considering a comeback, but says even he could match Valuev's mobility - even at the age of 42 after five years out of the ring. "He's been decent enough to have beaten the likes of Larry Donald, John Ruiz, Jameel McCline and Evander Holyfield. Valuev's won 50 fights, and has improved immensely since we saw him as a raw novice 'perform' in London some 13 years ago."
Adam Smith reminds us all that his size might be all you see, but there is perhaps more to the WBA champion than meets the eye... however far up you look. "He's not as Neanderthal as people think. If you're in front of him he's got good speed, but everything comes off that jab. If you're not there, you can see him flapping around, it'll be like trying to catch a fly."
Sparring partner and Valuev substitute Danny Watts says Haye can float like a fly? Does that mean he will sting like a... wasp? "Valuev has never been properly hurt before, let alone knocked down or out, and I'm now being given a chance to become the first fighter to bring 'The Beast' to his knees. This is my chance to make history."
Not one, not two, but three chances for Haye to, as he says, make history. One out of three will be enough, surely? "I'm sure Haye is going to win this fight. (Evander) Holyfield got a bad decision last year against Valuev, but Holyfield won that fight. If a shot 46-year-old Holyfield can beat Valuev, a young David Haye with speed and power means he will be the first guy to KO Valuev."
No-one knows more about little guys beating up bigger guys than Freddie Roach - and few call a fight better. "It depends on Haye's psychological opinion of the other fighter. It's all about the fighters' psychological opinions. If this guy feels this guy is beatable, he's beatable."
Mike Tyson might not be the first person you'd turn to for psychological help, but when he speaks you listen. If only through fear alone... "I don't care whether he can sleep or not. And I don't really care about what hotel he stays in. I am really looking forward to Saturday night when I will meet him in the ring and defend my title."
You'd have thought Valuev would be the one complaining about his hotel bed, but it is Haye who has had hotel problems since landing in Nuremberg. "I'm not one of these guys he's used to fighting. I'm not over-the-hill, I'm not tainted, I'm not past my sell-by-date. I am fresh, I am ready. I am gonna make him look silly on Saturday night. I am going to embarrass him, knock him out."
Haye remains brave considering he was sat within arm's range of the Russian. Mind you, so were most at the pre-fight press conference. "The fact is you must have already done the work. And the work is taking a great deal of punishment in the ring. If you haven't, the outcome is going to be tough for you - it is not going to come out on the right side of good for you."
It might not roll off Chris Eubank's tongue exactly, but he knows a thing or two about suffering for his sport and he hopes Haye has put in the hard yards.
