BACK in 2009, Nikolai Valuev went eye-ball to eye-ball with David Haye in the ring.
Or maybe, it was Haye’s eyeballs to Valuev’s chest.
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Russia’s Nikolai Valuev once fought David Haye in 2009
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Valuev, who stood at 7ft tall and weighed over 300 pounds, was the biggest champion of all time
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Valuev is now an MP in Russia and an ally of Vladimir PutinCredit: AFP
The British boxer’s then foe stood at 7ft tall and weighed a gargantuan 316 pounds.
It was no wonder the fight was billed as David Vs Goliath, with Haye the victor after 12 gruelling rounds by majority decision.
But since hanging up his gloves in 2009, the Russian boxer known as the ‘Beast from the East’ surprisingly became a politician.
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The tallest and heaviest boxing champion in history rose to become a member of parliament for the United Russia party, and is now a henchman for Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial regime.
Chillingly, Valuev recently revealed he was upset Great Britain still existed – saying there would be less problems in the world if it didn’t.
“If you imagine that in any of the past six centuries, the British Isles suddenly sank into the ocean, then for the rest of the world, indeed, there would be fewer problems for a certain time,” he said.
He added, in warning, if Britain no longer existed “others will take the place that becomes vacant.”
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Valuev’s life has been nothing short of interesting, if not controversial.
Boxing
From 1993 to 2009, Valuev’s life was dedicated to the ring.
Farce as 7ft boxing champ Valuev can’t find Russian army uniform that fits as star needs size 16.5 boots for Ukraine war
And he was a fighter with some pedigree too.
In 2005, he took on American John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in Berlin, Germany.
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It was a historic moment for the ‘Russian Giant’ who would earn a 12-round majority decision.
He would become the tallest and heaviest boxer of all time.
However, he would lose the belt in 2007 to Uzbekistani fighter Ruslan Chagaev by majority decision.
Redemption would come again in 2008, when Valuev would regain the belt after defeating Ruiz for a second time.
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British boxing fans will remember Valuev best for his fight with David Haye in 2009.
The Brit managed to outmove and outbox the huge frame of Valuev, winning by majority decision after 12 hard-fought rounds.
Haye later revealed he suffered a broken hand in the fight – comparing hitting Valuev’s head to striking a wall.
Three days later, the Russian retired from the sport. He underwent a series of operations in 2010, with his doctor saying he treating Valuev for “serious bone and joint problems”.
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Valuev was a two-time WBA heavyweight championCredit: EPA
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Haye and Valuev’s fight was dubbed ‘David vs Goliath’
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Despite Valuev’s height and weight advantage, it was Haye who was the winner
In 2013, he refused to return to the world of boxing citing medical reasons.
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A new chapter in politics
But, by this time, Valuev had already found a new calling.
He got involved in politics – using his fame and standing to aide his country.
In December 2011, the sports star became a member of the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, through the United Russia Party.
Controversies soon followed.
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In 2012, Valuev supported the law in Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the US.
The same year, following the IOC’s decision to suspend Russia from participating in the Olympics under its flag because of the Russian-state-sponsored doping scandal, Valuev came out firing.
He said that Russia should go to the Olympics and “tear everyone apart to spite these bastards who want to kill our sport.”
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By 2011, Valuev started a new chapter in his life as a politician
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In his short time in Russian parliament, Valuev has caused controversyCredit: Getty
Joining the fight
In 2022, Valuev revealed he had been summoned to fight for Vladimir Putin’s Russian army in Ukraine.
“In my opinion, everyone has received a summons, I also received a summons,” Valuev told Russian outlet Izvestia.
“Will I go? Of course, I will go to the enlistment office now.
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“My colleagues [fellow MPs] are good, they were registered for military service in the State Duma and received summons here, but I have to go home.
“I received the summons right before my trip to Donbas, and I was not at home. Next week I will definitely go and report to the enlistment office.”
However, weeks later he was rushed to hospital after complaining about a leg injury.
Russian magazine Life revealed the dash to a Moscow medical centre, claiming he received treatment overnight.
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However, a source played down the severity of the injury.
A spokesman for Valuev revealed: “No one broke his legs.”
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In 2022, Valuev revealed he was summoned to fight for the Russian Army by Vladimir Putin
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Valuev, seen in the lower chamber of Russia’s Parliament, in his guise as an MPCredit: Getty
Valery Kunzekov, a second spokesman for the sportsman, told Life: “Nikolai Sergeevich jumps, dances. Yesterday he was in the State Duma until late.
“No one broke his legs, and no one put him in the hospital. He is alive and well, smiling and walking on two legs. Now he is at home.”
Putin’s ally
In 2023, Valuev was seen clapping in the crowd, as Putin claimed Russia is engaged in a “real war” with the West during his Victory Day speech in Moscow’s Red Square.
During the 10-minute speech, Putin told the crowd: “Soldiers and seamen, and officers, generals, admirals, fighters and commanders, to all participants of the special military operation, I congratulate you on Victory Day.
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“It is the celebration to honour our fathers and grandfathers who fought for their motherland and through their sacrifice they saved the world from Nazism.”
Putin, who has often referred to the invasion of the Ukraine as a repeat of WWII, revealed that a “special military operation” was needed to free Donbas of the chains of ‘Nazi’ rulers in Kyiv and the West.
“Today civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said.
“A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.”
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He added: “Today we have a real war waged against us but we will be defending ourself from terrorism, we will defend the citizens of Donbas.”
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Valuev is politically allied to Vladimir Putin
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Putin addresses the crowd at the 2023 Victory Day paradeCredit: Reuters
According to The Athletic, the goalkeeper “never received the traditional cap to commemorate his international debut” in 2006.
He had also turned down the Champions League medal because he “didn’t feel part of it, sidelined by a back operation and unable to see a future under Rafael Benitez.”
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Kirkland didn’t receive a Champions League winners medalCredit: AFP
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Scott Carson, who was on the bench in Instanbul, offered to give Kirkland his own medalCredit: Getty
Kirkland’s dad famously landed a 100/1 bet he’d placed while his son was a teenager on him playing for England.
Speaking to the outlet, Kirkland laughed: “If I’d gone into the bookies’ with my dad, and they’d seen me, I’m sure he would have got a lot better odds than 100/1.
Following the event, Pereira and Vakhitov ran into each other backstage and chatted through translators.
“To be honest, I’m very happy see you winning,” Vakhitov told Pereira. “I love what’s happening with you right now over here. So just keep doing it, keep winning, I’ll be watching this. I’ll be focused on myself. Hopefully after a few more defenses, it will happen so that we’ll meet each other again.”
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(Video courtesy of Vakhitov’s manager Andrey Busygin)
While both fighters were competing in GLORY, Pereira defeated Vakhitov by split decision in their first encounter before the Russian got his revenge with a majority decision in the rematch. That fight served as Pereira’s final appearance in GLORY before signing with the UFC where he’s gone on to become a two-division champion in short order.
After Vakhitov decided to make a full-time transition to MMA, he exchanged more than a few messages with Pereira through interviews and over social media.
No matter what was said, Vakhitov promised it was never anything personal but just about business.
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“Nothing but respect,” Vakhitov said. “All love and it’s just sports. That’s all it is.”
The fighters shook hands and shared a hug, with Pereira giving Vakhitov a few parting words with a laugh between everybody involved after he gave his former opponent the extra nod he needed to get into the UFC.
“You owe me one,” Pereira said.
Vakhitov joins the UFC with a 3-1 record in his MMA career with all of his wins coming by first-round knockout.
With captain Seamus Coleman sidelined, Nathan Collins will continue to stand in as skipper.
The Brentford defender took the armband for the closing stages of the England game after Coleman limped off before and retained captaincy duties against Greece.
“I probably didn’t take in the moment as much as I should have, but that’s just the way I am,” Collins, 23, said of deputising for Coleman last month.
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“My family did – I think they were crying in the stand. Honestly, it means a lot to me and my family.”
Collins, who has started all seven of Brentford’s Premier League games this season, added: “I think in this camp, it’s really easy being a captain of this team as there are so many leaders. I could go through this team and you could name six or seven boys who would help me out, chip in, talk, motivate, and it makes my job easier.
“We’re missing a few of the older boys, past leaders, and it is time for boys to step up and time for us to start showing our leadership.”
South Africa batters Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp guide their side to the highest score of the tournament so far to eliminate Scotland from the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Poirier knows he doesn’t have too many fights left in him but would be all in for a four-man BMF tournament between him, Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC), and Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC). Poirier has history with all three fighters, going 1-1 with Gaethje, and defeating both Holloway and Hooker.
“That excites me because that kind of stuff is for the dogs, man,” Poirier told MMA Today. “That’s like the old PRIDE days or grand prixs, you know? That’s a real BMF. If you can fight in a tournament in one night, multiple opponents, I mean, dude, that’s kind of the definition of a BMF.”
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White, who’s instantly shot down other tournaments before, had a positive reaction when asked about Poirier’s idea.
“Sounds fun,” White said during a Dana White’s Contender Series 75 post-fight news conference at the UFC Apex. “Never thought about it, but yeah, I love it.”
A tournament would also excite Hooker, who responded on “X.”
As for BMF champion Holloway, he will look to add another belt when he challenges featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in the UFC 308 main event Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
JURGEN Klopp stunned football when he announced a return to the game just months after leaving Liverpool.
Less than a year since Anfield hero Klopp said he was “running out of energy” when he confirmed his departure from the Merseysiders, he was appointed as “head of global football” at the Red Bull group.
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Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been named as Red Bull’s global head of footballCredit: PA
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The 57-year-old released a statement on social media after a fan backlashCredit: Instagram @kloppo
Red Bull have six clubs in their stable including Leipzig, Salzburg and now Leeds.
Dortmund, like Liverpool, are very much a fans’ club, part of the heartbeat of their city.
RB Leipzig, the flagship of the Red Bull stable, were only founded in 2009 when the drinks company purchased the playing rights of a fifth-tier side in the East German city.
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Yet in unveiling Klopp as their new figurehead, with a role to help with the group’s “strategic vision” and global scouting operation as well as training and developing coaches, Red Bull have potentially risked compromising their star signing’s reputation.
The shock announcement of a five-year deal – with conflicting reports over whether there was a get-out clause if the German national team came calling – came out of the blue.
While Klopp, who will start his new role on January 1, said the opportunity “could not excite me more”, as far as many fans, especially in Dortmund were concerned, the news could not have angered them less.
Some denounced Klopp as a “traitor” and a “hypocrite”, with consternation among Liverpool supporters who had expected he would be out of football for at least a year.
And the scale of the reaction saw the German, 57, break his holiday to post a video message in which he tried to explain: “A few months ago I said that I don’t see myself on the sidelines anymore and that is still the case.
“But I still love football and I still love working. Red Bull gives me the perfect platform for that.
Jurgen Klopp bids emotional farewell to Anfield on final day as drops huge hint he might RETIRE after leaving Liverpool
“I want to share my experience which I collected over the years and we all know there are much more successful managers out there.
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“In my career, I fought for promotion, I fought against relegation, I’ve fought for titles, I’ve fought for trophies.
“Sometimes we failed, sometimes we succeeded and dealing with that is not easy. But it’s possible.
“Now I have time and I have the opportunity. I want to see and feel and figure out what is useful in football.
“So developing football a little bit as well. Really looking forward to it but now I go back on holiday. See you in January.”
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Klopp has botched his Liverpool exit… and it’s cost him his legacy, says Dave Kidd
By Dave Kidd
NOW we know Jurgen Klopp’s final major trophy haul at Liverpool — one Champions League, one Premier League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and (if you must) a World Club Cup.
But where does his reign stand among the greatest of the Premier League era?
In black-and-white terms, Klopp is way behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, the only two men to have won multiple Premier Leagues and a Champions League at the same club.
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Those two sit alongside Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Sir Matt Busby as the undoubted all-time managerial greats of the English game.
But Klopp ranks in the next tier down — with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho (the Chelsea version), Bill Shankly and Don Revie.
These were all men with the strength of character to transform their clubs in their own image and enjoy success but who did not win as much as they might have done.
Had Klopp managed to keep his intentions under wraps and ended up with another title, perhaps even a treble or quadruple, he’d have edged himself up into that highest echelon with Ferguson, Guardiola, Clough, Paisley and Busby.
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But deciding the timing and the manner of your exit is one of the toughest calls for any manager or sportsman.
Klopp got it wrong.
Read Dave Kidd’s take on Klopp’s demise in full here.
Or click here to check out all of Dave Kidd’s articles.
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Klopp’s move was evidently no shock to Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke, who said: “It’s not a surprise to me because I talked about it with him personally. I wish Jurgen luck in his new job.”
And it was unquestionably a coup for Red Bull, whose boss Oliver Mintzlaff said: “We are very proud of this outstanding and certainly the strongest signing in Red Bull’s football history.
“Jurgen Klopp is one of the greatest and most influential figures in world football, with extraordinary skills and charisma.
“He will be a game changer for our involvement in international football and its continued development.”
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