 The fight was marred with a series of illegal tactics initiated by Skelton, many of them resembling techniques used in Muay Thai and kickboxing matches.Chagaev retained his WBA title via unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 117-110, 117-111 and 117-111 in Chagaev's favour.His next mandatory defense was to be a rematch on 5 July 2008 with Nikolai Valuev, who defeated former WBO champion Sergei Liakhovich by unanimous decision to earn the right.