Frank Maloney, who once promoted Nikolai Valuev, recalls meeting the giant Russian - and why he let him go.
Maloney on meeting - and then losing - Nikolai Valuev
Frank Maloney knows a thing or two about heavyweight world champions.
He was of course the managerial mastermind behind Lennox Lewis' rise to the top of the boxing tree, standing proudly alongside the last man to unify the division and rule the sport from on high.
He also promoted David Haye back in his cruiserweight days, so will have a vested interest come November 7, when the Londoner goes in with Nikolai Valuev.
Yet if anyone can be excused of divided loyalties when Britain's new heavyweight hope tackles the Russian man mountain, it will be the man best known for his Union Jack suit.
Why? Because Maloney had a stint as Valuev's promoter way back in 1996. And it is a chapter in a colourful promoting career that he still remembers vividly.
"I was just building a heavyweight stable at the time and my agent said they've got this unusual Russian, would I like to take a look at him," he told
skysports.com.
"I said 'yeah, I'll have a look at him' and they said 'he's a bit bigger than normal'. So I thought he'd be about 6ft 8in, someone like Lennox Lewis, maybe a bit on the fat side."
Little did he know what we all know now - and what Haye will soon experience for himself.
Valuev came to the capital under Maloney's charge in 1996 and beat Neil Kirkwood and Darren Fearn amid the spit and sawdust of Battersea Town Hall and York Hall respectively.
Meeting
They were his fourth and fifth professional fights and a far cry from the heavyweight championship of the world, easily forgotten in a career that has taken in 52 fights, seven of the for world titles.
But it was a meeting that Maloney for one, will never forget.
"He came over (to London) and the hotel (where he was staying) phoned me and said to me 'we've got this giant of a man who can't get in the bath or can't sleep in the bed; can you come and sort this out Mr Maloney?'
"So I turned up and when I was at reception, the lady was explaining what he (Valuev) was like to me and I saw her eyes go wider and wider and she starting pointing to behind me.
"As I turned round, I just hit this solid, solid wall. So I started looking up and up... and up. And kept going. And I just thought 'eff me!'.
"I said 'do you know what? I'm not going to even try and pronounce your name, I'm just going to call you the Beast From The East!' And that's how that name started."
It's a nickname that Valuev himself is not too fond of.
He goes to great pains to reveal his sensitive side, citing acting, writing and poetry amongst his pastimes, keen to show that there is more than over-sized muscle to his make-up.
Entertainment
And Maloney is the first to agree that if ever a man's dimensions belied his demeanour, it is the Russian's 7ft, 22stone frame.
"He hardly spoke any English at all at that time, but he was a nice fella to work with," he said.
"He was very pleasant, as were the people around him, very polite and very humble and he still is I believe. I haven't seen him for a while, but I've heard he's still very much the same - and very proud of being a world champion.
"Even back then I thought he was entertainment value, a bit of a freak show, but who had ability for a big man.
"Someone said to me, 'oh you've just got another Primo Carnera' and I looked at Valuev and thought 'no, this guy has got some knowledge'.
"He had some ability and what they've done is work on him; he's learned how to use that."
Demands
Even so, when Valuev left London to return to Russia, even the ever-opportune Maloney had no idea what he was waving goodybe to.
Nine years on he sat and watched from afar as his one-time charge became the biggest and heaviest world champion boxing has seen, edging a close and controversial win over John Ruiz in Berlin.
The result, or at least the new champion's size, sent shockwaves through the sport, certainly as far as London where it dawned on Maloney that that wall, the Beast From The East, was indeed way more than a fighting freak show.
"At the time I didn't think I was dealing with a future world champion, but then I kept watching his results and thought 'Bloody hell! He's going on and on!'.
"I would love to have kept hold of him, but the demands of certain Russian people involved at the time were too much for me - and a little bit scary!
"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!"
Maloney will be cheering for Haye when the pair meet live on
Sky Box Office on November 7. He says he will even dust down the famous Union Jack suit in support of the Londoner.
But if Valuev wins, breakfast on the Sunday morning will still taste as good.
