Valuev Ruiz 2

Due to Ruslan Chagaev being injured past the point of time where he was supposed to fight a mandatory challenger, which was Nicolai Valuev in a rematch, the WBA has stripped Chagaev and gave him a 'champion in recess' label with an option to fight next year the winner of the Nicolai Valuev (48-1, 34 KOs) and John Ruiz (43-7, 29 KOs) 2 rematch that will be held on August 30th, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. The winner of this fight will be the new WBA Heavyweight champion.

The last time Valuev and Ruiz fought was back in December 2005 with Valuev coming out with the decision victory. I think that Valuev will have an easier time with Ruiz this time because I believe Valuev has improved and was already in shape to fight a similarly statured Chagaev, whereas, Ruiz wasn't prepared to face anyone especially someone in the stature of 7'2". The fight is coming up rather quickly so the training preparation is also in Valuev's favor since he should already be in top shape from preparing for the Chagaev fight that did not come into fruition.