Former world heavyweight boxing champion and current Russian State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Valuev has been banned from entering Azerbaijan following controversial statements about the country’s diaspora groups.
The ban comes after Valuev suggested Azerbaijan uses its diaspora communities to engage in illegal activities. Azerbaijan’s ministry condemned his remarks as “absolutely unacceptable,” particularly citing his threatening comments against the nation.
“The offensive statements against Azerbaijan and our people made by Nikolai Valuev… and his threatening remarks against our country are absolutely unacceptable,” the ministry stated.
Valuev’s comments came in response to Azerbaijan’s recent closure of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state-funded cultural diplomacy agency in Baku, which authorities shut down citing “lack of legal registration.”
Taking to Telegram, Valuev wrote: “Their main tools of influence in Russia are diasporas. This entire crowd should be put through the legal filter. Illegal migration, tax evasion, corporate raids and other ‘interesting’ activities will come to light soon enough.”
Previously Valuev made news for a publicity stunt. Former boxing champion Nikolai Valuev, the tallest and heaviest titleholder in history, was drafted to Ukraine. Valuev, a two-time WBA heavyweight champion, retired after losing to David Haye due to health issues and later transitioned into politics as a member of the United Russia party. He confirmed receiving his summons while in Donbas and stated his intent to report to the enlistment office. While some speculate his involvement is a PR move to influence public opinion, his long-standing pursuit of Bigfoot will have to be paused as he prepares for military service. In a surprise to nobody, he never actually went to war.
Valuev won the WBA heavyweight championship for the first time in 2005. He successfully defended it three times until Ruslan Chagaev stopped his 46 bouts long win streak. Valuev later became a two-time champion and successfully defended his title against the legendary boxer Evander Holyfield.
According to The Moscow Times, Valuev is at least the third Russian lawmaker to be declared persona non grata by Azerbaijan.
Before entering politics, Valuev had an impressive professional boxing career from 1993 to 2009, accumulating a record of 50-2 with 35 knockouts. He held the WBA heavyweight title twice and is recognized as the tallest and heaviest world champion in boxing history.
His penultimate bout was a controversial majority decision victory over Evander Holyfield in Zurich, Switzerland, where he weighed 310.8 pounds against Holyfield’s 214.3. Valuev’s final match was in Nuremberg, Germany, where he lost his WBA title to David Haye.
