Background
Valuev was born on 21 August 1973, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). He is of Russian descent, but he also had a Tatar grandfather.
He has two young children, daughter Irina and son Grisha (Grigoriy). In his professional boxing career Valuev has been defeated only twice by Ruslan Chagaev and David Haye.
Valuev is a Russian Orthodox Christian. During his youth he played water polo and basketball.