PREFIGHT
The challenger, David Haye, comes out first to the familiar sounds of McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin Us Now." He looks extremely calm and relaxed as he smiles and makes his way to the ring. The champ, Nikolai Valuev, makes his grand entrance next as a live band begins to perform. The giant makes his appearance and begins to make his way down a long flight of stairs. He looks extremely focused and confident. "Meine Damen und Herren....LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEE!"
ROUND 1
Valuev comes out backing Haye up. Haye dances on the outside, reluctant to throw a punch. Jab to the body lands for Haye. Haye up on his toes, dancing and moving. Another jab to the body lands for Haye. Valuev stalking. Haye tries a 1-2, but it's partially blocked. Valuev finding it hard to hit the target. They trade jabs. Right to the body lands for Haye. Quick 1-2 lands for Haye. Valuev lands a jab. Uneventful round that Haye probably won for being a tad bit more active.
Haye 10 Valuev 9
ROUND 2
Haye continues to circle left and right. Slow jab from Valuev misses. Haye keeping his hands down low. Valuev lands a couple of jabs to the body. Left hook from Haye is partially blocked. Neither man very active at this point. A lot of posturing. Jab to the body lands for Haye. They trade jabs. Still not much action...just an occassional jab here and there from both men. Woooooo...hard right hand upstairs lands for Haye...best punch of the round and the fight. Valuev just ate it though. Round to Haye.
Haye 20 Valuev 18
ROUND 3
Valuev continues to stalk behind a slow jab. Haye circling, circling, circling. They trade jabs. Valuev having an extremely difficult time cutting off the ring. Left hand scores upstairs for Haye. Valuev appears to have nothing other a jab, which is constantly missing the target. Right hand lands for Haye and he dances away. Haye isn't exactly doing very much though, which could lead to the same situation that happened to Holyfield. Round to Haye.
Haye 30 Valuev 27
ROUND 4
Valuev looks like he wants to turn up the heat now, but he still doesn't know how to cut off the ring. A right hand from Valuev grazes Haye. Haye looks like he's trying to set up a counter left hook. Quick right hand lands for Haye upstairs. Jab to the body lands for Haye. Valuev misses with a wild left hook. Leaping left hook from Haye lands upstairs. Valuev lands a right to the body. Round to Haye.
Haye 40 Valuev 36
ROUND 5
Haye continues to dance on the outside, making Valuev miss with his slow jabs. About one minute in, Haye throws his first punch, a jab which lands to the body. Not much action from Valuev either other than a couple of jabs that missed from extremely far away. 1-2 from Haye is partially blocked. Jab to the body lands for Haye and he dances away. Valuev finally lands a 1-2 to the body and a right upstairs. Haye starts to showboat a little after that. Haye lands an overhand right. Ugly round to score. Probably another round that Haye won, but I'll give it Valuev just because he was coming forward and actually tried to initiate the action.
Haye 49 Valuev 46
ROUND 6
This is actually bordering on comical. Valuev will throw a 1-2 from so far out that it looks like he's shadowboxing. Meanwhile, Haye simply circles, pretends like he's about to throw a punch and then circles some more. Almot 2 minutes in and Haye finally throws a jab to the body. Valuev lands a right. Haye lands a bigger right. Valuev tries to pin him in the corner and lands a couple shots to Haye's arms. The crowd gets excited. Jab lands for Valuev, but he eats a left hook in return from Haye. Both men wing shots at the bell. Round to Valuev.
Haye 58 Valuev 56
ROUND 7
More of the same to start the round. Valuev lands a right hand that gets Haye's attention. Haye looks a bit confused in there, as if he's not sure how to approach the giant. Left hand lands for Haye, but Valuev sneaks in a right. Now Haye lands an overhand right. Valuev tries to jump on him in the corner, but Haye dances away. Som more missed jabs from Valuev. Now Valuev fires a right hand down the middle that lands, but he's met with a four punch combination from Haye. Round to Haye.
Haye 68 Valuev 65
ROUND 8
Haye continues to spend the first part of the round just circling and dancing. Valuev arms are starting to drop lower as he shakes them out to loosen them up. Left hand lands for Haye. Valuev misses with his jab. Haye just circles away. WILD left hook from Valuev just misses Haye. Valuev lands a jab. Left hand lands for Haye. Hard up-jab lands for Haye. Quick 1-2 lands for Haye. Round to Haye.
Haye 78 Valuev 74
ROUND 9
Haye circles away. Valuev traps him in the corner and lands a 1-2 to the back of Haye's head. Overhand right lands for Haye and he dances away. Jab to the body lands for Haye. BIG right hand followed by a left upstairs lands for Haye. Valuev just eats it. Jab lands for Valuev. 1-2 from Valuev is partially blocked. Another overhand right lands for Haye. Round to Haye.
Haye 88 Valuev 83
ROUND 10
Double jab from Valuev hits nothing but air. 1-2 from Valuev hits nothing but air. Haye just circles away. They trade jabs. Stiff jab lands for Haye. Overhand right lands for Haye. Left and a hard right to the body lands for Haye. BIG overhand right lands for Haye. Valuev continues to miss with his jab. Another right hand upstairs lands for Haye. Valuev lands a nice right to the body. Round to Haye.
Haye 98 Valuev 92
ROUND 11
Lumbering right hand from a horribly off-balance Valuev is blocked. Haye just circles away, content with landing an occassional overhand right. Short, chopping right hand on the inside lands for Haye. They trade jabs. Valuev lands a right and Haye smiles. Jab to the body lands for Valuev. Another. Haye just coasting right now as he's not doing much work other than circling around the ring. Jab lands for Haye. Valuev lands a jab to the body. Short left hook on the inside lands for Valuev. Haye lands a big overhand right. Another. Probably another round won by Haye, but I'll give it Valuev just because he actually landed some punches this round.
Haye 107 Valuev 102
ROUND 12
They trade jabs. Haye circles away. They trade jabs again. Valuev is trying to fake the jab upstairs and come back with another to the body. They trade jabs one more time. Haye misses with a WILD overhand right. Right to the body lands for Valuev. Right hand upstairs lands for Haye. Left to the body lands for Valuev. Haye lands another right. BIG left hook lands upstairs for Haye and Valuev is hurt. His legs are wobbly. Haye jumps on him and lands some shots on the inside. The ref separates them. Another BIG right hand lands for Haye. Right hand lands for Haye and he dances away. Haye already puts his hand up to celebrate. One more right hand from Haye to end it. Round to Haye.
Haye 117 Valuev 111
Official judges scorecards: 114-114, 116-112, 116-112
THE WINNER BY MAJORITY DECISION...AND NEW WBA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD...DAVID HAYE
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