By Wolfgang Schiffbauer at ringside, April, 16, 2007
Photo: Eroll Popova
In a competitive and tactical fight, Ruslan Chagaev (22-0-1, 17 KOs) dethroned WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev (46-1, 34 KOs) by majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115-113, 117-111 at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. The seven-foot Valuev pressed the action for most the fight, but was repeatedly caught by straight lefts from his southpaw challenger, who was 11" shorter and 90lbs lighter. Both fighters connected with big shots, but neither fighter was ever in serious trouble. An emotional Chagaev spoke briefly after the fight, thanking his fans, countrymen and promoter among others before walking over to congratulate Valuev. The former champion was gracious in defeat. "I agree with the decision of the judges," stated Valuev. "My opponent found a tactic with which he was successful. Now I'll take a break and then begin training again." (More)

In an interesting battle of junior middleweights, 19-year-old German talent Dominik Britsch scored a six round unanimous decision over Karl-Heinz Scheibe. The young prospect nearly stopped his 17 year older foe in the sixth and final round but Scheibe made it out of the fight on his feet. Another good win for Britsch, who stands now at 5-0.

German heavyweight Rene Dettweiler defeated Ivica Perkovic by disqualification in round eight. It was a lackluster bout with few meaningful blows thrown. Dettweiler now stands at 20-1.

Heavyweight Francesco Pianeta stayed unbeaten with a extremly close split decision over eight rounds against Paolo Ferrara. It was a tough bout for both fighters. Ferrara lost a point in round seven for repeated head-butts. Pianeta is now 10-0.

Cuban cruiserweight prospect Yoan Pablo Hernandez (10-0, 5 KOs) had an harder than expected night with Hector Alfredo Avila (15-7-1) in winning a eight round unanimous decision. The Cuban hurt his foe in the opening round but faded down the stretch and was stunned himself in the seventh. It was a tough fight but Hernandez was able to outwork and outland Avila in the majority of the eight rounds. Scores were 78-75, 78-74 and 79-76 in favor of the Cuban.

Former European welterweight champion and world title challenger Michel Trabant returned to the ring with a unanimous decision over tough Albert Starikov in an eight round welterweight fight. Trabant, who suffered cuts over both eyes during the later rounds, moves his record to 43-2.

German cruiserweight KO Artist Alexander Frenkel scored a spectacular first round knockout over Ferenc Zsalek of Hungary. Frenkel knocked his foe down twice before the referee halted the action. Time was 1:31. Frenkel moves to 8-0 with 7 knockouts.

Heavyweight prospect Oleg Platov scored a tenth round stoppage over game journeyman Colin Wilson. It was a hard-fought affair, with both fighters rocked on several ocassions. In the tenth, Platov badly hurt Wilson with body shots but got caught with a right hand by the Australian. Platov, however, came back strong with a huge combination to the head that finally sent Wilson to the canvas. The time was 1:43.