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STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- Rocky Marciano's record is now out of the picture and so is a planned unification fight, but the biggest heavyweight champion of all time vows he will come back after losing his WBA title.
Nikolai Valuev, the 7-foot Russian, was outpointed Saturday night by Ruslan Chagaev, who is 11 inches shorter and 90 pounds lighter. Valuev's record dropped to 46-1 with a no-contest, ending his bid to match Marciano's 49-0 mark at the start of a career.
"Today is no reason for me to give up, I'll keep working on myself," Valuev said. "I'll keep doing it until I win a title again."
Chagaev, who is from Uzbekistan and calls himself the "White Tyson," didn't try to hit up at the towering Russian, as opponents did in Valuev's three previous defenses. Instead, he lunged in, threw flurries of punches and turned the bout into a slugfest.
The former amateur world champion solved the left jab, which had kept Valuev's previous opponents at bay, in the fourth round.
He jumped in, catching Valuev with a left, then a right to the temple. That forced Valuev into the fight Chagaev's camp wanted. The big Russian attacked and their fighter countered.
"For everybody who said Nikolai was too big and heavy for me, well it's not important that am I smaller now, is it?" Chagaev said.
Chagaev's only significant win before was a split decision against John Ruiz, and he was a heavy underdog against the unbeaten Russian. IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, negotiating a unification fight with Valuev, was among those who gave the challenger little chance.
"Everybody was expecting Valuev to fight Klitschko, but Ruslan spoiled that," said Chagaev's trainer, Michael Timm.
Klitschko has said he wouldn't be interested in fighting Chagaev, because the fight isn't a good sell. A battle with the 7-foot Russian would have been a big fight around the world.
Chagaev was awarded the fight 117-111 and 115-113, with one judge calling it 114-114. Valuev blamed the loss in a bout with a lot of punches thrown on his legs -- because of back problems, he often swims in training instead of jogging.
"Today I made a lot of mistakes and Ruslan was a few points ahead," Valuev said. "My biggest mistake was the stamina in my legs was not good. I did not have good movement."
The pair stood toe to toe in the 12th, bringing the 6,800 spectators to their feet. Valuev took a hard left just before the bell, and looked wobbly for a second, either through the blow or fatigue. Chagaev then threw his arms up in victory with seconds to go.
Chagaev used unorthodox methods to get a feel for Valuev's size, including Timm standing on a box during training.
"It was a great, great fight -- better than anyone expected," said Don King, Valuev's promoter.
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