By Mark Vester

The upcoming heavyweight rematch between WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev and seven-foot Nikolai Valuev is an Eastern European grudge match. Chagaev upset Valuev for the title last April when he boxed his way to a majority decision. The rematch is set for July 5 at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany.

The fight was due to happen earlier, but viral infection struck Chagaev, who withdrew and the bout was rescheduled for the July date. Chagaev is still getting his body back to form after battling the illness. He will start sparring on June 9.

"My training is going well. I'm healthy. I feel good in the gym. He's a good fighter, but I'm going to beat him again," Chagaev said.

Valuev was closing in on Rocky Marciano's record when Chagaev snapped his 46-fight unbeaten streak. He's reviewed the tape over and over and says the holes in his style have been fixed.

"I've studied our first fight a lot. I've worked hard to correct my mistakes from the first fight. Those will never happen again. I'm going to win back the title," Valuev said.

The undercard features another revenge rematch, with WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm defending against Randy Griffin of the United States. The two fought to a close draw in October.

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