IT would be easy to look at 7ft Nikolai Valuev and think he was a fearsome man.
Easy, and probably correct.
Even if you include the fact the ex-world heavyweight boxing champion briefly became a children’s TV presenter!
The Russian, 51, is now a lawmaker in Vladimir Putin’s regime – and newly banned from Azerbaijan for “offensive statements” against the nation.
Valuev’s most famous fight was a long-awaited WBA title clash against a much smaller Brit labelled “David vs Goliath”.
Challenger David Haye was a ‘mere’ 6ft 3ins tall but bulked up to his heaviest ever weight of 98.9kg for the 2009 bout in Germany.
But it still meant the Hayemaker went into the contest a whole 45 kilos lighter than the so-called “Beast from the East”.
According to a quick Google search, that’s about the weight of a baby hippopotamus… or a fully-grown Bloodhound!
It was Valuev who entered the ring looking for blood – but in the end he struggled to even find Haye.
The Londoner was too quick and mobile, mostly beating the giant to the punch to win by a majority decision, 114-114 116-112 116-112.
Astonishingly Haye’s triumph came despite breaking his hand – as early as the second round.
And his explanation of the injury only served to build Valuev’s chilling reputation still further.
The Hayemaker landed a blow on the head of the Beast.
But in doing so he broke a knuckle – and later described the impact as like “hitting a brick wall”.
Valuev, who was 36 at the time, considered retiring, but promptly had to quit anyway as it was discovered he had a benign brain tumour.
Knee problems – surely caused at least in part by his mighty frame -also hastened his departure from the ring.
And at first, he followed his fight days with a somewhat traditional path – forming the “Nikolai Valuev Boxing School” to help train young boxers.
But he soon added an unusual “hat-trick” to his much-changing CV.
Valuev was elected as an MP for the Russian parliament in 2011, becoming a member of the lower chamber (State Duma) with the United Russia party.
He was also appointed general manager of the national bandy team – a sport similar to ice hockey but with a ball instead of a puck.
Then came his most left-field career choice – hosting a kids’ TV show in 2016, from which regular appearances followed.
Six years later, Valuev announced he’d been called up for combat by Putin in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But he was taken to hospital with a leg injury – and “failed” the conscription guidelines on health reasons.
Now he’s back in the political limelight for equally controversial reasons.
Valuev alleged that Russia’s neighbours Azerbaijan had been using diaspora groups – organisations scattered around outside their country – to engage in crime.
The country’s Foreign Ministry responded quickly – with a knockout blow for any plans the Beast might have had for crossing the border.
A statement read: “The offensive statements against Azerbaijan and our people made by Nikolai Valuev… and his threatening remarks against our country are absolutely unacceptable.
“Due to the statements made by this deputy against Azerbaijan, his name has been added to the list of individuals banned from entering the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
Valuev is at least the third Russian lawmaker to receive such a ban from the East European nation.
But if the exact number is unknown, there’s a glaring fact that might help to tell him apart from the rest.
Valuev is the Beast who can boast he’s the tallest and heaviest world champion in boxing history.
