Q&A With 'Russian Giant' Nikolay Valuev

Russia's Nikolay Valuev, owner of the WBA heavyweight title, is the tallest and largest fighter ever to wear the crown in the division's history at 7 feet and 320 pounds. As such, the native of St. Petersburg literally steps over the ropes rather than through them when he enters the ring.

A product of parents who each stood 5-5, the 36-year-old champion's size -- he stood 6-4 at age 12 -- comes from his ancestors, an Asiatic tribe called the Tartars, according to Valuev's grandmother. Valuev's grandfather was "a giant of a man" named Vasily, she said. "A direct descendant of this warrior race."

At the age of 16, the 6-6 Valuev played for a junior national championship basketball team. When he was 18, Valuev, then 6-9, threw the hammer and tossed the discus, earning a junior national title in the latter when he was 19. Valuev did not become a boxer until he was 20.

In an exclusive interview with FanHouse, Valuev (50-1, 34 knockouts) discusses his interest in literature, his son, Grisha, the Klitschko brothers, and his career and life as heavyweight champion.

Editor's Note: Translation provided by Pavel Govzman, consultant to promoter Don King.

FanHouse: Can we start by clearing up the correct spelling of your first name?

Valuev: My name is spelled N-I-K-O-L-A-Y Valuev. This spelling is according to my international passport. In many places, they have it N-I-C-O-L-A-I, but on my passport, and the way it truly goes, it's my legal name, which ends in A-Y.

I'm absolutely aware that you will see my name spelled A-I in many, many different places. Sometimes, my own team and [publicists] spell it that way. But that's not my legal name.

FH: What do you think of your nickname, "The Russian Giant?"

Valuev: It's not the worst nickname in the world that I could have.

FH: Do you step over the ropes to enter the ring because it's easier or to intimidate your opponents?

Valuev: Because it's easier.

FH: Is there a timetable for, and what are your feelings about, fighting either of the brothers, WBO and IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko or WBC king Vitali Klitschko?

Valuev: I'm never against fighting the Klitschko brothers. I have been so eager to fight the Klitschkos, that I contacted them directly. I've had some communication with Vitali Klitschko, and then, basically, he disappeared from the line of communication.

I've initiated it and it didn't go anywhere. I'm ready to fight the Klitschkos at any time, and I've been calling them out for a long time.

"I'm ready to fight the Klitschkos at any time, and I've been calling them out for a long time."
FH: You will be fighting David Haye in Bayer, Germany, on Nov. 7, but how long before you fight in America for only the fourth time?

Valuev: If America is ready to welcome me back, I am ready to fight there again.

FH: At your age and size, are you concerned about the problems with your knees and how long your career will last because of them?

Valuev: I was able to overcome my problems with my knees. I've already forgotten what the knee protectors are and what they feel like. I haven't needed them.

I don't even wear them anymore, even when I'm training. But only God knows how long I will continue to box. Right now, I'm not planning to retire or quit boxing anytime soon.

FH: Was the victory over Larry Donald, or the one over John Ruiz the transition fight of your professional career?

Valuev: It would be John Ruiz, because by winning that fight, I became the world champion.

FH: Does it concern you that many experts believe that David Haye is the exactly wrong opponent for you because he's smaller, younger and very fast?

Valuev: It's not going to be the first time for me facing a cruiserweight or someone who is lighter than myself. There are going to be faster fighters, and I know that, so there will be no surprises for me.

FH: How do you believe the layoff will affect you, since it will have been 11 months since defeating Evander Holyfield in December when you fight David Haye?

Valuev: For all of those 11 months, I will not have been just sitting and waiting. I've been training the entire time. It should be no problem.

FH: What is the correct spelling and meaning of the name of your mother, who likes to prepare the caviar stuffed pancakes and beatroot soup for you?

Valuev: Her name is Nadezhda. And the meaning in Russian, Nadezhda means "Hope."

FH: What drew you to poetry and the writings of those such as Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tom Clancy, Jack London, Tolstoy and other giants of literature?

Valuev: Basically, that kind of literature is the closest thing to real life.

FH: As an avid reader and writer of poetry, do you believe that you could do a better job on your own story than most sports writers, since seemingly so few have written about you?

Valuev: I'm not really concerned about that. In Russia, there is quite a bit of material written about me, and, for me, that's much more important. In Russia, people read about me quite a bit.

FH: As a former basketball player, do you still consider the impact you might have made in that sport, considering the strides Russian players have made in the game, professionally, in America?

Valuev: I'm not someone who second-guesses or asks, "What if?" I don't regret my decision to become a boxer.

FH: You say that before boxing, you had never thrown a punch in your life -- but how about working at the restaurant as a bouncer, did you have any stories about having to use your budding, pugilistic skills during that time?

Valuev: When I was a bouncer, I wasn't a boxer. That came a long time after. Thank God, I never had to hit anybody. It never really ever got to the point where I had to throw a punch at another man except for in the ring.

FH: Can you please share at least the name of a poem you wrote on the way to wooing your wife, Galina, and her reaction to it?

Valuev: The poem doesn't have a name. All that I cared was the context of the poem. She really liked it and she still keeps it somewhere.

FH: Does your son, Grisha, understand what you do, and will you allow him to ever participate in your sport?

Valuev: I wouldn't want him to become a boxer, but I would like him to do something in sports. Right now, he plays soccer and does Judo.

FH: Do you yet believe that you are taken seriously as a champion?

Valuev: Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. I can't judge everyone, and look into their soul and see what they believe or think. If I don't understand something, I try not to judge that situation or that person.

To expect everyone to like me or to agree with me being a legitimate champion is not realistic. I'm asking people to reserve judgement until I've had a chance to prove myself as a champion.