Six days before his hotly-anticipated clash with David Haye, WBA Heavyweight Champion Nikolai Valuev arrived in Nuremberg on Sunday evening. “I am in great shape and I will take home my title,” the Russian Giant said. “I really look forward to the fight.”
Two big names have been added to the undercard. Former world champion John Ruiz (43-8, 29 KOs) will take on Germany´s Adnan Serin (19-10, 7 KOs), while fellow ex-champion Sergey Lyakhovich (23-3, 14 KOs) comes face-to-face with Jeremy Bates (22-16, 18 KOs). Team Sauerland´s cruiserweight sensation Alexander Frenkel (20-0, 16 KOs) will also display his rising talents against former IBF Cruiserweight Champion Kelvin Davis (24-10, 17 KOs).
Nordic Nightmare” Robert Helenius to face Bidenko on Valuev-Haye undercard: Heavyweight hopeful Robert Helenius (9-0, 5 KOs) will face the toughest test of his career on November 7 when he takes on Taras Bidenko (26-3, 12 KOs) on the Valuev-Haye undercard in Nuremberg. After impressively stopping Scott Gammer in Helsinki last May, the Nordic Nightmare is eager to prove his class against another top opponent in what will be just his ninth fight.. “Bidenko is technically very strong,” Helenius said. “This is without a doubt the biggest challenge of my young career but I am ready for him. I want to keep improving. I am a strong puncher and also have size advantages so I am very confident of success. I want to be world champion one day, so I need to fight strong people, and this is another great test for me.”
Helenius last fought on August 29 when he knocked out Serdar Uysal in Halle. “I continued training the Monday after the fight,” Helenius said. “You have to be in top shape all the time. I have been with Ulli Wegner for 18 months now and I really enjoy working with him. He has taught me a lot of great things and I will show that in the ring against Bidenko. He has the chance to bounce back following his loss against Denis Boytsov, but a win over such a well-known opponent will further raise my international profile. So there is a lot at stake for both of us.”
On a sidenote, the Nordic Nightmare most recently received another boost when his beloved Sandra gave birth to their second child, Kingston Kane, in September. “That was a great feeling and has given me a lot of additional energy in practice,” Helenius added.
Ruiz-Serin added to Valuev-Haye undercard
LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2009) – Two-time World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz, the current WBA No. 1 rated and “official challenger,” has been matched against former IBU champion Adna “Aachen Assassin” Serin on the Nov. 7th Nicolai Valuev-David Haye pay-per-view event live from Nuremberg, Germany. Ruiz (43-8-1, 29 KOs), the first and only world heavyweight champion of Latino heritage, needs to defeat Serin (19-10-1, 7 KOs), a Turk who fights out of Germany, to earn a mandated WBA shot title against the Valuev-Haye winner early next year.
“I’m always happy to go to Germany,” Ruiz said. “The people there are great and they always treat me well. I’m really looking forward to this fight. I know no fight is easy and that I have to get past this one to get the winner of Valuev-Haye. That’s why I’m focused 100-percent on the November 7th fight. I know there’s another world title fight in the horizon for me, but I have to ready for this fight and win to get the next one.”
Ruiz-Serin is tentatively scheduled to be the opening bout on the live PPV show being distributed by Integrated Sports in the United States and Canada starting at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite via iN Demand, DIRECTV, TVN, DISH Network, Viewer’s Choice, Shaw PPV and Bell TV for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. A replay will be shown that same night at 9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT.
“It’s been a while since I last fought because of some things that were out of my control,” Ruiz noted. “I’m ready and have been training for three months. I’m very happy that this fight is going to be on pay per view in the United States. My fans haven’t been able to watch my last few fights and neither has the media. They think I still fight the same way (clutch-and-grab) because my fights haven’t been shown on television back in the states. I’m much more aggressive and now they will all be able to see how much I’ve improved with their own eyes.”
King Arthur backs Valuev
King Arthur Abraham believes that Nikolai Valuev will successfully defend his WBA Heavyweight Title against David Haye. The Russian Giant takes on the British challenger in Nuremberg on November 7. Fresh off a mini vacation in Rome following his spectacular Super Six World Boxing Classic KO victory over Jermain Taylor, King Arthur popped into the Max-Schmeling-Gym today where Valuev held an open training session for the press. “I think Nikolai is going to win,” King Arthur said. “For Haye it will be difficult to come out of cruiserweight and fight a man that is as tall and heavy as Valuev. 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. He will control the fight with his long left jab.”