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Saturday, December 24, 2005

Ruiz-Valuev Highlights on Boxen.com 

The official web site of the Team Sauerland Event promotion in Germany has posted free video highlights from last Saturday's controversial WBA heavyweight title fight between John Ruiz and Nicolay Valuev in Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin.

This can be seen on the Boxen.com site .

All you need is Windows Media Player.

Of course, you can only tell so much about this fight by looking at a few minutes of edited highlights. You can still hear, however, even over the added commentary, most of the German crowd boo when the majority decision in favor of Valuev was announced.

By the way, on an American boxing site which shall remain nameless and linkless, a couple of their boys were writing about how they saw this fight live online on some site which streams international television stations. It was not telecast in the U.S.

If this were a legal webcast, you would think that the Sauerland site would either be hosting it or at least advertising it. They weren't, leading me to suspect that maybe, just maybe, something wasn't on the up-and-up here. (And if I'm wrong here, please correct me, and I will post something about it. I also would have liked to have seen this fight live, online or on TV, just legally.)

What's worse is that these fellows work at a site which has a lot of video content available only to paying subscribers. Now, you boys wouldn't want someone stealing your stuff, would you?

Comments:
It's impossible to know who won based on the excerpted rounds. Ruiz obviously had been instructed to abandon his usual approach in favor of darting in and out with quick punches--the right tactic. Valuev is no natural, but he's well coached. He's better than some guys in the Top Twenty and good enough to beat any--two or three excepted--among them who come in under-prepared. Valuev versus Tua would be a riot visually. Of course, that's one fight Valuev would be foolish to take.
 
Valuev lacks good movement. But Ruiz had a very bad 2005, even if he was robbed. He has lost his most marketable asset: the WBA belt. They should give him an immediate rematch, but I have a feeling King doesn't want that, nor do the American networks, who in essence would be his co-promoters. So he is in a very tight spot from a business standpoint.
 
Valuev probably needs good movement less than other heavyweights. And, at the moment, Larry Donald and Kirk Johnson are the only good movers in the division. I think Valuev is more susceptible to punchers than to movers. He was rocked a couple of times in both the Donald and Ruiz fights, and neither of those guys is much of a banger.
 
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3 Comments:

It's impossible to know who won based on the excerpted rounds. Ruiz obviously had been instructed to abandon his usual approach in favor of darting in and out with quick punches--the right tactic. Valuev is no natural, but he's well coached. He's better than some guys in the Top Twenty and good enough to beat any--two or three excepted--among them who come in under-prepared. Valuev versus Tua would be a riot visually. Of course, that's one fight Valuev would be foolish to take.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:00 AM  

Valuev lacks good movement. But Ruiz had a very bad 2005, even if he was robbed. He has lost his most marketable asset: the WBA belt. They should give him an immediate rematch, but I have a feeling King doesn't want that, nor do the American networks, who in essence would be his co-promoters. So he is in a very tight spot from a business standpoint.

By Blogger Eddie Goldman, at 8:43 AM  

Valuev probably needs good movement less than other heavyweights. And, at the moment, Larry Donald and Kirk Johnson are the only good movers in the division. I think Valuev is more susceptible to punchers than to movers. He was rocked a couple of times in both the Donald and Ruiz fights, and neither of those guys is much of a banger.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:54 AM  

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