David Haye vs Nikolai Valuev, 2009: How the Smaller Man Took the WBA Heavyweight Title in Nuremberg

On 7 November 2009, in an arena on the edge of Nuremberg, a former cruiserweight from London climbed into the ring against the tallest and heaviest man ever to hold a heavyweight title. Twelve rounds later David Haye had the WBA belt on a majority decision, a damaged right hand, and a place in the record books that nobody has taken from him since.

Two Very Different Roads to Nuremberg

Nikolai Valuev was born in Leningrad in August 1973 and turned professional in October 1993. His size made him a curiosity long before it made him a champion. In December 2005 he outpointed John Ruiz by majority decision for the WBA heavyweight title, and Wikipedia's account of that night notes he became both the tallest and the heaviest man to rule the division, listed at 7 feet and 324 pounds. He lost the belt to Ruslan Chagaev in April 2007, also on a majority decision, then reclaimed the vacant title against Ruiz in August 2008 when Chagaev withdrew injured.

His first defence of the second reign did him little credit. In December 2008 he kept the belt against a 46-year-old Evander Holyfield on a majority decision that was widely disputed and largely remembered for how little happened in it. By the time Haye was matched with him, Valuev was 50-1 and had not boxed for nearly a year.

Haye arrived from the other direction. He had been the undisputed cruiserweight champion before stepping up, and he carried a record of 22-1 into the fight. His path to a heavyweight title shot had been messy. A planned June 2009 meeting with WBC champion Vitali Klitschko gave way to a fight with the younger brother, Wladimir, who held the IBF and WBO belts, and Haye then pulled out of that bout with a back injury. Valuev became the next door to knock on.

The Arithmetic of David and Goliath

The promotion was billed as David against Goliath, and for once the slogan was not an exaggeration. Haye stood 6 feet 3 inches and weighed in at 217 pounds; Valuev came in at 316. Most British accounts put the gap at roughly seven stone, close to 100 pounds. The height difference is reported a little differently depending on the source: Wikipedia and the Russian press list Valuev at 7 feet (2.13 metres), while a Press Association retrospective gave him 7 feet 2 inches and an 11-inch advantage. Either way, the challenger was looking up at a target roughly a foot above him.

Haye leaned into the theatre of it all. According to the Press Association, he joked during the build-up that he watched films about King Kong, Godzilla and Frankenstein to keep the scale of the job in his head. The underlying question was serious enough: whether speed and timing could carry a former cruiserweight past an opponent who had been beaten only once.

Circling the Giant

About 8,000 people were inside the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, according to Boxing News. What they saw was not the slugfest the poster implied. Haye fought behind a plan of constant movement, stepping in to score and stepping out again before Valuev could set his feet. Wikipedia's description of the bout sums up the approach as circling, jabbing and moving, with Haye countering the champion's misses rather than standing to trade.

The left hook became his most useful tool. Press Association reports credit it with draining Valuev's energy as the rounds went by, while body shots and short combinations kept the bigger man from settling. The pace was deliberate rather than frantic. Haye later put the result down to speed and athleticism, which let him stay clear of Valuev's punches at close range.

The challenger was not untouched. The Press Association's account of the night records that Haye had to get through a testing seventh round before the fight swung decisively his way in the final session.

A Hand That Gave Way

Part of the reason for Haye's caution only came out afterwards. Early in the fight he damaged his right hand, an injury reported in different ways by different outlets. Trainer Adam Booth said it gave way in the third round; one Press Association retrospective places a fractured knuckle in round two; the Moscow Times, using agency copy, said the damage came in the second or third. Boxing News simply described it as a broken hand. What the accounts share is that Haye spent most of the contest unable to throw his right with full confidence.

Haye's own explanation was blunt. Quoted by AFP, he said of the champion's head: "it was like punching a brick wall." The injury helps explain why the left hand did so much of the work.

The Last-Round Wobble

The single most dramatic moment came at the very end. In the twelfth round Haye finally let his hands go. The Moscow Times report says a heavy left hook landed with about a minute remaining and shook Valuev, raising the prospect of the first stoppage loss of his career. Boxing News called the closing assault ruthless and said Haye came close to knocking the champion out; the Press Association described Valuev as rocked.

Valuev did not go down. He held his feet and saw out the round, but the moment did much to settle the argument on the cards.

Three Scorecards, One Dissent

Two judges scored the fight 116-112 for Haye, eight rounds to four. The third had it level at 114-114, which made the verdict a majority decision rather than a unanimous one. On the official record it was only the second defeat of Valuev's career, and it was the last fight he ever had.

Valuev's assessment was candid. Quoted in the Moscow Times, he admitted that his opponent's speed had been a problem. In comments carried by AFP he compared the night to a marathon he had not been ready to run.

What the Win Meant

Haye, 29 at the time, became the first British fighter to hold a world heavyweight title since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003. Wikipedia places him as the fourth Briton to win a major heavyweight belt, after Bob Fitzsimmons, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno, and only the second former cruiserweight champion to take a heavyweight title, after Evander Holyfield. His Wikipedia biography goes further, describing him as the only boxer to win a world title fight while giving away seven stone or more.

The new champion wasted little time looking ahead. Speaking to AFP, he named the Klitschko brothers as targets, and he predicted he would be too fast for his mandatory challenger, John Ruiz. That prediction held: Haye stopped Ruiz in the ninth round on 3 April 2010, then defended against Audley Harrison before losing the belt to Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2011.

Valuev retired after Nuremberg. In December 2011 he was elected to the Russian State Duma for United Russia, and he later worked in children's television. His size remains part of boxing folklore, but the record of the night belongs to the smaller man, who outthought him and nearly knocked him over in the last minute.

Sources

• Nikolai Valuev vs. David Haye, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• David Haye, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Nikolai Valuev, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• On this day: David Haye defeats gargantuan Nikolay Valuev in Germany, Boxing News, undated retrospective
• On This Day in 2009: David Haye stuns Russian giant Nikolai Valuev, Press Association via Yahoo Sport UK, 7 November
• On this day in 2009: David beats Goliath as Haye claims heavyweight title, Press Association via Yahoo Sport UK, 7 November
• Haye Shocks Valuyev in David Versus Goliath Match, The Moscow Times, November 2009
• David Haye wins WBA heavyweight title, AFP via The Himalayan Times, November 2009