March, 1, 2007
WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev will make his first mandatory title defence in Stuttgart on April 14. The Porsche-Arena has been unveiled as the venue for his clash with mandatory challenger Ruslan Chagaev. "I´m looking forward to Stuttgart," said the Russian Giant (46-0, 34 KOs). "It´s good to fight in Germany again after two successful trips to Switzerland and America." Valuev had last stopped Jameel McCline (TKO 3) and Monte Barrett (TKO 11) in Basle and Chicago. The tallest and heaviest champion of all time will travel to Berlin on Sunday to continue his preparations in the Max-Schmeling-Gym. "The camp in St. Petersburg has been pretty hard but also very good," he vowed. "I will be prepared for Chagaev. He is a strong opponent but I will beat him." The first official press conference with the two fighters and their coaches Manuel Gabrielian and Michael Timm will be held at Stuttgart´s Porsche-Arena on Tuesday.