During his recent trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko took some time to speak with Nikolai Valuev and made a final offer to the "Russian Giant." Klitschko made the trip for personal reasons, but he took the time to speak with Valuev directly to ensure the proper information was being passed along.
"It wasn't my goal for going there. I had scheduled several meetings of a personal nature, and besides, I was together with my wife Natalia we were invited to the Mariinsky Theatre for a music festival. I also met with my possible next opponent. Of course I'm talking about one of the most famous athletes in St. Petersburg - Nikolai Valuev," Klitschko told Pravda.
"It is always better to communicate without intermediaries so the information is not distorted. The less middlemen, the better."
The offer to Valuev is still the same. Klitschko made a financial offer of $1.5 million dollars to Valuev. If Valuev turns it down, Klitschko will look in the WBC rankings for another opponent.
"I offered Nikolai one and a half million American dollars for a fight. I'm not going to bargain. If he refuses this offer, I shall box against other contender - someone who is high up in the rankings. For Nikolai, motivation should be enough. In fact, he gets the opportunity to fight for the most prestigious championship belt - which was owned at one time by Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Regardless, there is a purse attached for an amount that he never received in the past, even when he was the champion," Klitschko said.
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