FORMER world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev has made a surprising new career move by becoming a children’s television presenter in his homeland of Russia.
The 7ft giant, who weighed in for his fights over 300lbs, retired in 2009 after David Haye outpointed him in Germany.
However the ‘Beast from the East’ is the new host of ‘Spokoynoy nochi, malyshi’ (which translates to Good Night, Little Ones), a show which has been running since 1964 that is aimed at saying goodnight to children.
“I could not even imagine when I was a kid that someday I would become a host on my favourite kid’s TV show. So have a Good Night, Little Ones!” the Russian behemoth said when announcing his new role.
Valuev will debut on the show in September. The programme runs for 10 minutes every weekday evening and is intended to be played to children before their put to bed, with the host being joined by animal puppets and cartoon characters to sing lullabies.
During a 16-year career, Valuev beat the likes of John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield and since retiring has opened a boxing school and moved into politics, both of which he will continue to work on around his new TV gig.
The 42-year-old currently lives in St Petersburg with his wife and two children.
