Honestly...I can see where you both are coming from...& I am sure that I’ll catch much flack over this post…not to mention my answer…but here it is.

I voted #1. Why you ask? Here…let me tell ya.

First & foremost…if Valuev had network backing…he’d be great for boxing, considering that he kept fighting & winning in the fashion that he has.

While many of you will think that is a ridiculous answer & most likely will rip into this entire post…let me go a little bit deeper with my statements of stupidity.

Valuev started as a sideshow act. Really. He was nicknamed "The Beast from the East" & has now dubbed himself "The Russian Giant". The man’s accomplishments are over shadowed by his actual mass. He he stands at 7’ & 1” & weights between 318 to 330lbs & he is legitimately broken records by becoming the tallest and heaviest champion ever.

Granted that aint enough to win anything other than being dubbed by most boxing fans & writers as a freak show.

This is where I differ from most. While I am sure that I am one of the few…I think that Valuev has been improving leaps & bounds in the last four years…especially if you look all the way back to 1993 or 1994 before you condemn the man.

Back in 2003, for those of you that bought a ticket to the freak show, Valuev started showing gradual improvement by beating 2nd & 3rd tier opposition with devastating results. He destroyed Otis Tisdale & Dick Ryan with back to back first round knockouts. He then blasted out Bango, Levin, Vidoz, & Etienne to follow.

In his first major steps up he would go on to controversially win fights against two former heavyweight champs Larry Donald & John Ruiz. Controversial or not he won the WBA strap in December of 2005 by defeating John Ruiz over 12 rounds. He then would go on to defend that belt against Owen Beck, Monte Barrett & Jameel McCline.

Like it or not…the man’s record is stamped bold across all of the heavyweight body rankings at 47 fights, 46 wins with 34 knockouts, no defeats, & one no contest.

Again…like it or not…that’s an accomplishment. The men he defeated & his record can be picked apart…even by me…& I aint a dyed in the wool fan of the man…but he does deserve to be noted for his accomplishments.

Those men that he hammered out didn’t just step into the ring & let him knock them out. He did this. The boxers that he went 12 rounds with had to make a fight of it…no matter what anyone says…he was given the wins. He made them happen…although he did have a close fight with Ruiz…I pretty much disagree that it wasn’t the utter robbery that most made it out to be…especially those that have all seen snippets of the fight.

Now…the question that I want to ask I is this…is it so wrong to actually want to believe in the man just due to the fact that he's basically been a hometown hitter?

Is it wrong to hope that maybe he can do something more for the sport than just be dubbed as a bust or a freak show?