Former world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev has been called upon by Russian President Vladimir Putin to fight in their ongoing war with Ukraine.
Valuev, 49, has become the latest Russian fighter to be conscripted to fight for the country following MMA champion Vladimir Mineev's enrolment earlier this week. Standing at 7'0" tall and weighing 149kg during his peak, Valuev is best known for being the tallest and heaviest world champion in boxing history.
The 'Beast from the East' first won the WBA heavyweight title in 2005 and defended it three times before his 46-fight unbeaten run was ended by Ruslan Chagaev. Valuev eventually worked his way back to becoming a two-time champion and even defended his belt against boxing legend Evander Holyfield. In a fight dubbed 'David vs Goliath, Valuev lost his title to David Haye and subsequently retired from boxing due to bone and joint problems.
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After his retirement, Valuev made a career switch to politics and joined the Russian parliament as a member of the conservative United Russia party. In a recent interview with Russian state media, Valuev said he had been handed his summons to take part in the ongoing war whilst he was in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
"In my opinion, everyone has received a summons, I also received a summons," Valuev told Izvestia. "Will I go? Of course, I will go to the enlistment office now. My colleagues are good, they were registered for military service in the State Duma and received summons here, but I have to go home. I received the summons right before my trip to Donbas, and I was not at home. Next week I will definitely go and report to the enlistment office."
Valuev's enrolment into the war means will have to put his hobby of hunting the "Russian Yeti" aside, as the former heavyweight champion has spent more than a decade trying to prove the existence of the mythological creature since retiring from boxing. His bid to find the creature even saw him appear on Channel 4 series 'Bigfoot Files' in 2013.
