madjack
17-10-2002, 06:03 AM
War of the giants
By GRANTLEE KIEZA
16oct02
Daily Telegraph
AUSTRALIA's toughest man, Kali Meehan, is trying to force a fight with the world's biggest boxer, 217cm Russian monster Nicolai Valouev, on the undercard to Kostya Tszyu's next world title fight.
Meehan, the best heavyweight in Australia and unbeaten in this country since arriving here from New Zealand five years ago, is the leading contender for the undefeated Valouev's Pan Asian title and hopes to face the 150kg behemoth on the Tszyu-Jesse Leija undercard at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on January 19.
"We were offered the fight in Russia but I'm not keen to go there with all the stories about the Russian mafia," said the 195cm, 110kg Meehan, who has scored 22 knockouts in 28 wins.
"But if we could bring Valouev to Australia it would be fantastic."
Valouev, who lived for a time at Tszyu's San Souci home in 1997, is billed as "The Beast from the East" and has scored 31 wins with 25 knockouts.
He claimed the Russian heavyweight title in St Petersburg on Friday with a fourth-round KO of Konstantin Prizyuk and won four fights in Australia in 1997.
Meehan, who still gets up before dawn to drive down from the Central Coast to work as a garbo for the Drummoyne council, says that, at 32, time is running out for him to cash in on his big punch.
He is just a couple of victories away from being rated among the IBF's top 15 heavyweights and some monster pay days.
His trainer Angelo Hyder says he is negotiating with Tszyu's promoter Vlad Warton to bring Valouev to Melbourne.
"Kali is the mandatory contender for the Russian's PABA title and Valouev is long overdue defending it," Hyder said.
"He has an excellent chance of beating Valouev and making a big name internationally."
Meehan has lost only once in 29 fights when knocked out by Commonwealth champ Danny Williams in London last year, but he has won five fights since then and is eager for a big name on his record.
He said he only started getting serious about his boxing career six years ago when Paea Wolfgramm, a portly Tongan he had easily beaten in the amateur ranks, took a silver medal in the super-heavyweight class at the Atlanta Olympics.
Meehan has scored big wins over Australia's best big men including Bob Mirovic, Colin Wilson and Justin Fortune and also boxed world heavyweight title challenger David Tua in the amateur ranks.
He holds the IBF Pan Pacific heavyweight title.
By GRANTLEE KIEZA
16oct02
Daily Telegraph
AUSTRALIA's toughest man, Kali Meehan, is trying to force a fight with the world's biggest boxer, 217cm Russian monster Nicolai Valouev, on the undercard to Kostya Tszyu's next world title fight.
Meehan, the best heavyweight in Australia and unbeaten in this country since arriving here from New Zealand five years ago, is the leading contender for the undefeated Valouev's Pan Asian title and hopes to face the 150kg behemoth on the Tszyu-Jesse Leija undercard at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on January 19.
"We were offered the fight in Russia but I'm not keen to go there with all the stories about the Russian mafia," said the 195cm, 110kg Meehan, who has scored 22 knockouts in 28 wins.
"But if we could bring Valouev to Australia it would be fantastic."
Valouev, who lived for a time at Tszyu's San Souci home in 1997, is billed as "The Beast from the East" and has scored 31 wins with 25 knockouts.
He claimed the Russian heavyweight title in St Petersburg on Friday with a fourth-round KO of Konstantin Prizyuk and won four fights in Australia in 1997.
Meehan, who still gets up before dawn to drive down from the Central Coast to work as a garbo for the Drummoyne council, says that, at 32, time is running out for him to cash in on his big punch.
He is just a couple of victories away from being rated among the IBF's top 15 heavyweights and some monster pay days.
His trainer Angelo Hyder says he is negotiating with Tszyu's promoter Vlad Warton to bring Valouev to Melbourne.
"Kali is the mandatory contender for the Russian's PABA title and Valouev is long overdue defending it," Hyder said.
"He has an excellent chance of beating Valouev and making a big name internationally."
Meehan has lost only once in 29 fights when knocked out by Commonwealth champ Danny Williams in London last year, but he has won five fights since then and is eager for a big name on his record.
He said he only started getting serious about his boxing career six years ago when Paea Wolfgramm, a portly Tongan he had easily beaten in the amateur ranks, took a silver medal in the super-heavyweight class at the Atlanta Olympics.
Meehan has scored big wins over Australia's best big men including Bob Mirovic, Colin Wilson and Justin Fortune and also boxed world heavyweight title challenger David Tua in the amateur ranks.
He holds the IBF Pan Pacific heavyweight title.