Valuev Becomes Biggest Champ Ever!

There are few sure things in life. John Ruiz fighting an ugly fight with a controversial outcome is one of them. Saturday night's "title" fight against undefeated giant Nicolay Valuev was no exception. After 12 predictably ugly rounds, Valuev was awarded a disputed majority decision to claim the WBA title and become the tallest (7 feet) and heaviest (324 pounds) champion of all time. The scores of 116-113, 116-114 and 114-114 were booed by many of the 10,000 in attendance at Max Schmeling Arena in Berlin, Germany. After the fight, Ruiz's manager Norman Stone - in a characteristic show of poor sportsmanship - grabbed the title belt away from Valuev and ran around the ring holding it over his head. In what may have been the highlight of the evening, Valuev's manager Hagan Sevecke responded by punching Stone right in the nose as five security men forcibly pried the belt away from Stone. On the undercard, Laila Ali stopped Sweden's Asa Sandell in the fifth round of a non-title bout. Muhammad Ali was in attendance to see his daughter raise her record to 22-0.