Nikolai Valuev (46-1, 34 KOs) can´t wait to get back into the ring and erase the darkest hour of his boxing career. After a break of five-and-a-half months, the Russian Giant is ready to bounce back from his first-ever defeat. It was back in April that unheralded Ruslan Chagaev had shockingly deprived him of his WBA belt by clinching a hard-fought majority decision. Nothing has been the same for Valuev since, and the 34-year-old is ready to deliver against unbeaten Canadian Jean-Francois Bergeron come Saturday night. "I have changed my life completely," Valuev admitted at today´s press conference in Oldenburg. "First and foremost, I have a new coach, Alexander Zimin, and we´ve changed the daily routine significantly."

Valuev has not wasted a single thought about losing to the defending NABA champion. "Failure is not an option for me," he vowed. "I have learned from my sole defeat and changed a lot of things in training. I only have one ambition and that is to win back my WBA belt."

Meanwhile, Jean-Francois Bergeron (27-0, 19 KOs) revealed he fancied his chances despite a major disadvantage in height and weight. "Everything is possible in boxing," he vowed. "And I have trained harder than ever before. I´ll be in great shape and will be strong enough to fight 12 rounds with a lot of energy."