Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield (six rounds apiece). The decision was controversial, with veteran announcer Nick Charles stating "That is the worst display of officiating I have ever seen." ESPN's Dan Rafael wrote "you can make more of a legitimate argument that Holyfield won all 12 rounds than you can make one that Valuev claimed at least seven to take the fight." Valuev would go on to face former unified cruiserweight champion David Haye, losing via a majority decision and retiring three days later. Holyfield would continue on for three more fights before finally retiring just before he turned 50, therefore this fight marked the
Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield fight. As in virtually every fight he had been in, the 7 foot, 310-pound Valuev had a distinct size advantage as he was ten inches taller and nearly 100 pounds heavier than Holyfield. Holyfield accepted a pay day of around $700,000, his lowest purse for a heavyweight title fight and a far cry from the record $35 million he had earned for his second fight against Mike Tyson. This would mark the first time Holyfield had contested the WBA belt since his third fight with John Ruiz in 2001. Though the fight was largely uneventful and featured no knockdowns, Holyfield