FanHouse David Haye

Challenger David Haye did a lot of trash talking before Saturday night's clash with WBA champion Nikolai Valuev. In the end, the smaller man backed up his words.

FanHouse live blogged round-by-round updates of David Haye's majority-decision upset of Nikolay Valuev in of one of the more intriguing heavyweight fights of the year. Valuev had a clear size advantage over Haye, but boxing experts were split on who would come out on top of this one.

Valuev fell to 50-2 in his career (34 knockouts), while Haye improved to 23-1 (21 KOs). We will have a complete wrap-up of this match soon. In the meantime, see how FanHouse scored the fight.

Check out the fight recap after the jump.

David Haye has fists that have earned him the nickname, "The Hayemaker," since only one opponent in 22 victories has gone the distance with him.

But the London resident is known by opponents as much for his verbal taunts and jabs outside of the ring as he is for the actual bombs he throws inside of it.

Haye, for example, once wore T-shirts sporting the decapitated likenesses of the siblings, heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko (IBF and WBO) and Vitali Klitschko (WBC), during promotions of scheduled bouts with each that never materialized.

And during the buildup to Saturday's matchup with WBA titlist, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, Haye's vocal assault on the largest heavyweight champion in history have been equally relentless.

Called by Haye, "a circus freak, a zombie and a robot," the seven-foot Valuev literally steps over the ropes instead of through them because he says "it's easier."

Saturday's heavyweight matchup between seven-foot, WBA champ, Nikolay Valuev, and six-foot-three challenger, David Haye, in Germany has the proverbial makings of a "David vs. Goliath" matchup.

Valuev (50-1, 34 knockouts) weighed more than 310 pounds for his last fight in December, compared to 215 for Haye (22-1, 21 KOs), a rising cruiserweight (200 pounds).

Check out the results (below) of a poll taken from some of boxing's most expert sources for their rationales on just which fighter will emerge victorious.

Although his Nov. 8 bout slated for Jeju Island, South Korea, was canceled, 47-year-old former four-time champion, Evander Holyfield, could fight South African, Francois Botha, on Dec. 19, in Uganda. A good showing in the Botha fight could also lead to a possible title shot at WBC champion, Vitali Klitschko, Holyfield's manager, Ken Sanders, told FanHouse on Tuesday.

"We do this fight in December, then I'd say in February or March, we could have a championship fight with the WBC's Vitali Klitschko," said Sanders, whose contention is supported by comments made by WBC president, Jose Sulaiman.

"If Evander comes and has a good showing in the fight that takes place in Jeju, I think that Klitschko might take a fight with him," Sulaiman, told FanHouse on Sept. 28 when Holyfield-Derric Rossy still was scheduled. "I believe that Evander Holyfield is one of the best heavyweight fighters of the last quarter century."

As England's David Haye prepares to fight Nikolay Valuev for the WBA heavyweight championship on Saturday, the British press is making it out to be a David vs. Goliath tale: At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Haye, the storyline goes, is facing a monumental challenge against Valuev, who's 7 feet tall and 320 pounds.

At age 78, boxing promoter Don King is still at it.

The man who brought the world "The Rumble In The Jungle" on Oct. 30, in 1974, featuring Muhammad Ali's dramatic, eighth-round knockout of George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, will celebrate that event's 35th anniversary on Halloween with the first-ever, boxing event to be held at Las Vegas' Treasure Island.

That's when IBF bantamweight (118 pounds) titlist Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 knockouts) will put his crown on the line against Colombia native Yonnhy Perez (19-0, 14 KOs) of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., as part of an event to be televised on Showtime.

"This event at Treasure Island is going to be a great festival. I'm bringing the eighth wonder of the world to Las Vegas, King Kong," said King, referring to the nickname given Agbeko for his ferocity in the ring.

Boxing fans had hope for David Haye. As he began to heat up the war of words with Wladimir Klitschko in April, it finally looked like there was a heavyweight title match worth getting excited about. For a fleeting moment, Haye reminded us that, yes, heavyweights can still have star appeal and charisma.

Then something all too familiar struck: disappointment.

There are reports across the globe that we have our first real heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.

Wladimir Klitschko defeated some guy named Ruslan Chagaev Saturday in Germany to retain his IBF and WBO titles. Klitschko also won The Ring magazine belt for recognition as the best heavyweight in the game.

Big deal.

The June 20 heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye has been canceled, with Haye saying he won't be able to box because of an injury. Klitschko, however, says he still intends to show up and fight someone on June 20 at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where around 50,000 tickets have already been sold.