| BoxingTalk Story |
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01/09/2006
Edited Press Release: Is WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev getting sick of his whirlwind promotional tour of the United States? Press releases from Germany indicate the answer might be yes. Thursday was the fourth day of his tour of the USA, and Nikolai Valuev reportedly went ballistic two times. As he arrived in Chicago, where he will defend his title against Monte Barrett, Valuev complained, "I know that this stress is necessary but first of all I´m a pro and the world champion. I wasn´t able to train for two days [and] I have to do so to win the world championship fight. Under no circumstances can things go on like this." His promotional team, which consists of Don King Productions and Sauerland Event had to hold a a crisis meeting at the Conrad Hotel to discuss the prior two days in New York, where King brought Valuev to the US Open tennis tournament and to visit Donald Trump. In an effort to calm the situation, two radio appointments were cancelled and Friday morning in Los Angeles was kept open for Nikolai. However, the seven-foot Russian still had two morning television appearances in Chicago. Finally, Valuev got to squeeze in some training. First he went to the exercise room belonging to the hotel for two hours. Subsequently he considered the Lake Shore Athletic Club on the other side of the Illinois Street. "I´d like to live at this hotel for the fight in October," Nikolai said. "From here it´s just a short way to go for training." Then it was back to the p.r. grind as the tallest champion visited the nation's tallest building- the Sears Tower.
