Evander Holyfield believes he got what it takes to beat Nikolai Valuev and become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time. The living legend will try to deprive the Russian Giant of his WBA title when he comes face-to-face with him in Zurich on Saturday night. “I am in great shape,” Holyfield said during today´s media work-out at the Swissotel. “There have been many great fighters in the history of boxing but nobody managed to win the heavyweight title at the age of 46. I will try to accomplish that.”
Holyfield would not lift the curtain on his tactics for Saturday, though. “Valuev might have same advantages, but there are also some things that will be working in my favour,” he stated. “I will show on Saturday what I mean by that.”
Unlike Holyfield, who took his time to warm up, hit the pads and do shadow boxing, Valuev did not spent much time in the ring today. After some light stretching and shadow boxing, he was done, hinting that he prefers to do most of his training work in the evening hours. Apart from the physical preparation, Alexander Zimin also puts a lot of emphasis on the mental fitness. “I go walking, read books and watch a few Russian movies,” Valuev stated. “I will try to relax and get my mind set on Saturday.”
The Russian Giant is full of respect for his famous opponent. “He is very experienced,” Valuev lauded. “I will not underestimate him and I am fully aware that I need to perform very well to beat him. But as you can see I am highly concentrated. I believe I have done everything I need to do in order to leave the ring victorious on Saturday night.”
(Picture credit: Romina Amato)