Nikolai Valuev: How the Tallest Boxing World Champion Lives
Two meters thirteen centimeters. One hundred and forty-nine kilograms. These are not the parameters of a Canadian grizzly, although the similarity, admittedly, is immediately noticeable. This is Nikolai Valuev. A man who, with his mere appearance in the ring, made his rivals mentally write a will, and the audience - hold their breath. The tallest and heaviest world champion in boxing history.
But do you know what the most amazing thing about this giant is? If you turn off the spotlight, remove the ropes and the roar of the bloodthirsty crowd, you will find a well-read, quiet man. A man who, between rounds of the most brutal sparring sessions, read Agatha Christie and Russian classics. And this is not an image for the press. This is his essence, hidden behind a frightening facade.
The boy who had shoes too small
He wasn't born a monster. A perfectly ordinary baby was born in a Leningrad maternity hospital in 1973 - 52 centimeters. The parents were also not of gigantic stature. But then something went wrong. Or, on the contrary, as it was destined.
In kindergarten, Kolya was taller than the teachers. At school he sat at the back desk, propping up the tabletop with his knees. Imagine what it's like to be a teenager who everyone looks at. Always. On the bus, in the store, on the street. Fifty-second shoe size. Clothes that cannot be bought in a Soviet department store - only made to order. He got used to slouching. He hid his height, as if apologizing for taking up too much space in this world.
Sport was not an ambition, but a necessity to put this huge body somewhere. First basketball. Then discus throwing. He came to boxing ridiculously late - at the age of twenty. At this age, Mike Tyson was already breaking jaws for championship belts, and Valuev was just learning how to jab correctly.
Beast from the East and chess in the ring
Promoters quickly realized what a gold mine they had gotten their hands on. The public loves freaks. The public loves David and Goliath, especially if Goliath looks like he can bite through a crowbar. They came up with the nickname "Beast from the East". They made him look fiercely into the cameras. And he, frankly, was just doing his job.
Valuev's technique was never elegant. No "float like a butterfly". Have you ever seen a freight train float? He took it by attrition. Opponents simply crashed against him like waves against a breakwater. They hit, hit, got tired, and then a heavy blow came from above, like a concrete slab.
But was he just a killing machine? No. The boxers who worked with him were amazed by his patience. He listened to the coaches, methodically practicing the same movements for hours. In 2005, he became the WBA world champion, defeating John Ruiz. And then there was the fight with Evander Holyfield. Controversial. Heavy. Many then whistled, believing that the victory was given to the Russian unfairly. Valuev did not make excuses. He simply accepted the belt, with the same calm, slightly tired expression on his face.
The price of gigantism. What the newspapers didn't shout about
Only those closest to him knew the price he was paying for his size. His height is not a gift of nature. This is a diagnosis. Acromegaly. A pituitary tumor that causes the body to produce growth hormone non-stop. The very thing that made him a champion was slowly killing him.
The bones thicken. The joints cannot withstand the weight of one and a half centners. Internal organs increase, requiring more oxygen. Every appearance in the ring in the last years of his career was not just a sporting challenge, it was a game of Russian roulette with his own body. He had to undergo several complex brain surgeries to stop the growth of the tumor. He left boxing not because he broke down morally. The doctors simply said: "Another fight could be the last. Literally."
Khryusha, Stepashka and the deputy's seat
Life after the ring turned out to be full of irony. The Beast from the East put on a suit (again custom-made) and sat in the chair of a deputy of the State Duma. Some laughed. Some twirled their fingers at their temples - like, where does a boxer go to the laws. But Valuev also showed his signature impenetrability here. He just does what he thinks is necessary.
The apotheosis of breaking patterns was his appearance on the program "Good night, kids!". Imagine the picture: a giant whose fists remember the faces of the best heavyweights on the planet, sits next to Khryusha and, with a gentle, thick bass, wishes the children pleasant dreams. And the children are not afraid of him. They feel what adults often do not notice: a kind heart beats behind this frightening rock.
The illusion of form
His wife Galina is waiting for him at home. Her height is 163 centimeters. In the photos, she barely reaches his chest. They have been together for more than twenty years. And looking at how carefully this giant embraces his wife, you understand the main truth about Nikolai Valuev.
We are used to judging by the cover. We see a mountain of muscles and bones - we expect aggression. And we get a person who collects mushrooms in the forest, reads books voraciously and quietly fights his illness. The tallest world champion turned out to be not a monster, but just a person who had to learn to live in the body of a giant. And, perhaps, this is his most important victory.