Ruslan Chagaev

Chagaev had a few professional bouts while competing as an amateur. He finished his amateur career having a total of 85 fights under his belt, with a record of 81 wins, 4 losses (no stoppages.)

Ruslan Chagaev (center) inside the ring with his coach Michael Timm (right) challenging Rob Calloway (left). 7 January 2006).

Chagaev made his professional debut on 21 August 1997, defeating Donnie Penelton by first-round knockout. After defeating Brian Jones three weeks later by second-round KO, Chagaev returned to amateur boxing. He turned pro fully in 2001, beating an experienced journeyman Everett Martin on 21 September by fourth-round technical knockout, in what was Chagaev's first and only professional fight in his native Uzbekistan. In a span of four years, Chagaev built up a 17–0–1 record, with the only flaw on his early record coming 5 October 2002 bout against Rob Calloway in Detroit, Michigan, United States. At the end of third round, the fight was stopped due to Calloway having a wound caused by a headbutt. Michigan boxing rule mandated that the fight be called a Technical Draw (TD) since the bout ended by an accidental foul. Usually four rounds are needed to go to the score cards for decision.

Chagaev slowly but steadily climbed up the heavyweight ranks, first avenging the no-contest with a brutal second-round knockout of Calloway.[5]

In 2006 he beat undefeated Ukrainian prospect Vladimir Virchis in a close and intense punchfest, and slowly took apart prominent British boxer Michael Sprott.

On 18 November 2006, he fought the former WBA champion John Ruiz, and prevailed in a close contest. He took a split decision with scores of 117–111 and 116–112 for Chagaev, and 115–114 for Ruiz. Chagaev became the mandatory challenger for a shot at Nikolai Valuev, the WBA heavyweight champion at the time. Valuev was sat ringside and believed Chagaev was the rightful winner.[6]

The fight between Chagaev and WBA titlist Valuev took place on 14 April 2007 at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. Chagaev won the fight and WBA title via a majority decision (117–111, 115–113 and 114–114). Many ringside had the fight close and some calling it controversial.[7] With the win, Chagaev became the first Asian to win a world heavyweight title.

On 26 June 2007, it was announced that Chagaev would partake in a heavyweight unification bout with WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov. The fight was due to take place in Moscow on 13 October 2007 and would have been the first heavyweight unification bout since 1999;[8] however, Chagaev had to drop out of the fight after contracting hepatitis B.[9] At that point, it was not clear whether he would have been able to compete at all, with WBA considering a championship tournament for Chagaev's crown.[10] After Ibragimov defended his crown against Evander Holyfield, however, it was announced that Chagaev was able to recover.

Chagaev made his first official defence against Commonwealth heavyweight champion Matt Skelton (21-1, 18 KOs) on 19 January 2008 at the Burg-Waechter Castello in Düsseldorf. Skelton's promoter Frank Warren initially wanted the fight to take place in February or March, but Chagaev insisted an earlier date. In regards to fighting Skelton, Chagaev said, "I am completely healthy and I am ready to fight, I want to get in the ring. It will be a hard fight against a good puncher."[11] The fight was marred with a series of illegal tactics initiated by Skelton, many of them resembling techniques used in Muay Thai and kickboxing matches.[12] Chagaev retained his WBA title via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 117-110, 117-111 and 117-111 in Chagaev's favour.[13][14]

His next mandatory defense was to be a rematch on 5 July 2008 with Nikolai Valuev, who defeated former WBO champion Sergei Liakhovich by unanimous decision to earn the right. However, the fight had to be cancelled after Chagaev suffered a complete tear of an Achilles tendon during his final sparring session in preparation for the defense, causing Chagaev's second postponement of the match. The WBA elected to make Chagaev "Champion in Recess" due to the injury that Chagaev sustained and necessary recovery time and mandated that top-contenders Valuev and John Ruiz meet for the vacated title. By beating Ruiz, Valuev also became champion on 30 August 2008.[15]

Chagaev returned from injury on 7 February 2009 to fight the then-unbeaten Costa Rican Carl Davis Drumond. For the fight, Chagaev was not listed as WBA champion, but rather the "Champion in Recess". The fight took place at the StadtHalle in Rostock. Chagaev sustained a cut from an unintentional clash of heads in the third round. The fight ended after round 6, with Chagaev winning the fight via technical decision. Chagaev was taken to hospital after the fight for treatment. Judge Jean-Louis Legland had Chagaev ahead 60-54, whilst judges Hector Afu and Paul Thomas had Chagaev ahead 58-56.[16]

Chagaev and Valuev were supposed to fight no later than 26 June 2009 to determine who the WBA regarded as their champion.[17] They were scheduled to fight on 30 May 2009 in Helsinki, Finland at the Hartwall Arena, but Chagaev failed a Finnish medical test, allegedly due to hepatitis.

Unified world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to face David Haye on 20 June 2009, but Haye pulled out within weeks of the fight complaining of a back injury.[18] Chagaev agreed to step in for Haye as a last-minute replacement.[19][20][21] The winner would take the vacant Ring magazine heavyweight title in the battle between their number 1 ranked heavyweight, Klitschko, and third ranked Chagaev. Klitschko was defending his IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles. Chagaev's WBA champion in recess title was not on the line. [22][23] The Ring's pre-fight comparison gave Chagaev the edge on defense, praising him for his fundamentals and footwork, and thought he had a stronger chin. It gave Klitschko the advantage in power, speed, athletic ability and experience.[24]

The fight took place at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. With over 61,000 fans attending the fight it was the largest audience for a boxing match in Germany since 1939, when Max Schmeling knocked out Adolf Heuser in front of 70,000 people in Stuttgart.[25][26] Klitschko dominated the fight, keeping Chagaev at the end of his jab and throwing straight right hand whenever necessary. Klitschko dropped Chagaev near the end of the second round, and was gradually fighting more aggressively as the fight progressed. Chagaev's trainer Michael Timm did not allow Chagaev to come out for the tenth round, prompting the referee to wave the bout off, declaring Klitschko the winner by corner retirement (RTD).[27][28] On 24 July 2009, when the WBA published their Official Ratings as of June 2009, Chagaev was no longer the "Champion in Recess" but the No. 1 challenger instead.

Chagaev fought Kali Meehan (35–3, 29 KO) on 22 May 2010, in a WBA heavyweight title eliminator at the Stadthalle in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.[29] Chagaev won the bout by unanimous decision with the scores of 117–111, 117–112 and 118–110.[30][31] Six months later in a stay-busy fight, he defeated Travis Walker via unanimous decision in an eight-round fight which turned into a slugfest.[32][33]

After Wladimir Klitschko unified his WBO and IBF titles with David Haye's WBA title, Klitschko was upgraded to "Super Champion" by the WBA, thus making the "Regular Champion" title vacant.[34] On 6 July 2011 negotiations for Chagaev to fight Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin (21-0, 15 KOs) for the vacant title began between Sauerland, who promote Povetkin, and Chagaev's promoter Universum.[35] Two days later, Povetkin's trainer confirmed the fight would take place on 27 August.[36] At the time of the bout, Chagaev was ranked No.4 heavyweight contender by The Ring, while Povetkin was ranked No.3 contender by the same publication.[37] There were concerns about Chagaev's health state, due to him being diagnosed with hepatitis B and the possibility of him infecting Povetkin. Chagaev, however, insisted that the medical examination had confirmed that his opponents (Povetkin included) weren't in danger of being infected.[38] Most observers expected the fight to be close, giving Chagaev an advantage in experience, while also giving Povetkin the edge in youth and athletic ability. Both fighters were given an even chance to win.[39][40]

Both fighters were active from the opening bell, with Povetkin appearing to have the upper hand in the first half of the fight, frequently closing the distance and working Chagaev's body, while blocking most Chagaev's shots with arms and gloves. Povetkin staggered Chagaev with an uppercut in the third round. Chagaev regained composure in the middle rounds, hurting tired Povetkin several times with clubbing left hooks. Povetkin withstood Chagaev's attacks and re-established his pressure going into the championship rounds, while Chagaev appeared to be saving energy for the last rounds. The twelfth round saw both fighters trading shots.[41][42] The bout went full twelve rounds, with Povetkin being declared the winner by unanimous decision. The scores were 116–112 (twice) and 117–113, all in favor of Povetkin.[43][44] According to CompuBox, Povetkin landed 152 punches out of 533 thrown (28.5%) with 112 landed power shots (39.6%), while Chagaev landed 72 punches out of 416 thrown (17.1%) with 62 power punches (35.2%).[45]

After the Povetkin bout, Chagaev went 5-0 (3 KO), defeating world ranked Jovo Pudar & four journeymen with respectable records.[46]

On 15 June 2013, at a press conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, European heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KOs) stated his plans to fight Chagaev next although details had not been discussed.[47] Towards the end of the month, Chagaev spoke out denying any rumours that he was interested in a fight with Pulev. He instead stated that he was closing in on a deal to fight undefeated Cuban Luis Otiz (19-0, 16 KOs) in the fall of 2013.[48]

In May 2014, talks began for a fight between Chagaev and former world title challenger Fres Oquendo (37-7, 24 KOs) for the vacant WBA "regular" heavyweight title in June. Oquendo climbed the WBA rankings further after stopping Galen Brown (41-27-1, 24 KOs) in two rounds earlier in the month.[49] Oquendo pulled out in July due to passport issues and was on the verge of being replaced by German boxer Alexander Petkovic (49-4-4, 27 KOs), however Oquendo managed to board a plane, confirming the bout was still on.[50] The fight took place on 6 July at the Ahmat Arena in Grozny. Chagaev claimed the vacant title via majority decision after 12 rounds in a tough battle. Judge Guillermo Perez Pineda scored the fight 114-114, whilst judges Gustavo Jarquin and Alexis Marin both scored it 115-113 in favour of Chagaev, giving him the win. Chagaev controlled most of the fight with his constant jab and later in the fight started connecting with body shots.[51][52] A few days after the fight, the WBA ordered Chagaev vs. Ortiz. Both camps had 30 days to negotiate a deal.[53]

In November 2014, Oquendo spoke out about not receiving his guaranteed purse of $1 million and an immediate rematch within 120 days if he lost. His promoters Hitz Boxing and Square Ring Promotions, who were guaranteed an additional $100,000 were also reportedly not paid. Bobby Hitz of Hitz Boxing stated that they would file a lawsuit.[54] In the same month, RUSADA released information from a mandatory drug test that was taken after the fight which stated that Oquendo had tested positive for tamoxifin and anastrozole. According to the fight contract, this meant Oquendo would need to pay back his purse.[55] In December, a $5 million lawsuit was filed by Oquendo against promoter Terek Box Event seeking damages caused by the agreement to the Federal Court in Manhattan. In a statement, Oquendo said, “I am really looking forward to my day in court and finally getting justice. These guys pulled a really slick move and tricked me into fighting on July 6 by promising me to increase my purse to $1 million and giving me a rematch at a time when I wasn't mentally right, with my wife and newborn baby being sick and in the hospital. Well, now they are the ones behind the eight ball. They’ve got until January 2 to respond to the lawsuit.”[56] In April 2015, the judges issued an injunction.[57]

In May 2015, it was announced that Chagaev would make his first title defense against long time contender WBA #13 Francesco Pianeta (31-1, 17 KOs) on 11 July at the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg, Germany. Pianeta's only loss came in 2013 to Wladimir Klitschko via stoppage.[58][59] World of Boxing president Andrey Ryabinsky helped settle the issue between Chagaev and Oquendo. With the legal battle finished, it was said that Oquendo would fight the winner of Chagaev vs. Pianeta.[60] Chagaev won the fight via 1st-round TKO. Pianeta was dropped with two lefts but beat the 10 count. He was then dropped again following two more lefts. Referee Jean-Louis Legland stopped the fight 3 seconds before the round was due to end.[61][62][63][64]

Chagaev and Oquendo were scheduled to have their rematch on 17 October at the Sparkassen Arena in Kiel, Germany. On 6 October, Oquendo pulled out of the fight citing illness.[65]

On 14 November 2015, the WBA ordered Chagaev to reach a deal to make a defence of his WBA title against Australian heavyweight contender Lucas Browne. The two sides had until 30 November to reach a deal.[66] Chagaev's promoter Timur Dugazaev announced the fight would likely take place in Grozny in March 2016.[67] In the January 2016, the fight was officially announced to take place on 5 March.[68] Browne won the fight by stopping Chagaev in the tenth round. Browne landed nearly 20 unanswered punches, mostly right hands, before referee Stanley Christodoulou stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. Browne was knocked down in the sixth round and at the time of the knockout, behind on all judges scorecards (81-88, 82-88 twice).[69][70]

It was reported on March 22 that Browne failed his post-fight drug test and was then stripped of the belt and will likely have the result changed to a no-decision.[71][72]

On July 28, it was reported that Chagaev had been stripped of his WBA 'Regular' title for failure to pay outstanding sanctioning fees. According to WBA, Chagaev and promoter Timur Dugazaev have repeatedly failed to pay $40,750 in sanctioning fees related to Chagaev's majority decision victory against Fres Oquendo. The WBA said it sought payment multiple times and had no choice but to vacate the title when there was no response.[73]

It was announced on 28 July 2016 by manager Timur Dugashev that Chagaev announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 37 due to problems with his eyes. Dugashev stated: "Ruslan informed us that he would no longer fight. The reason is the state of his eyes. Health is the most important thing."[74]

There was reports in October 2016 that Chagaev was offered a farewell fight to close his career, potentially a rematch with Lucas Browne. Chagaev chose to stay retired due to health issues.[75]