Peter Stops Maskaev In 6th Round TKO, Is Vitali Klitschko Next?

peter3532.jpgBy Aaron Klein: Heavyweight Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) finally got his title tonight with a controversial 6th round stoppage of Oleg Maskaev (34-6, 26 KOs) to capture the WBC heavyweight title at Cancun, Mexico. Looking really sloppy and wild, Peter, as usual, threw countless rabbit punches in the first five rounds of the bout, but somehow not getting penalized for them by the referee.

The came in the sixth round when Peter let loose with a flurry of wide hooks, some of them landing to the back of Maskaev’s head, wide hooks, some of them landing to the back of Maskaev. The came in the sixth round when Peter let loose with a flurry of shots that hurt Maskaev. However, before Peter could finish him off in proper fashion, the referee stepped in and halted the bout before Peter could properly put the finishing touches on a knockout of the 39 year-old Maskaev.

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Maskaev In For Big Problems Against Peter

In a bout that’s almost two years overdue, Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) will finally get his shot against WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) on Saturday night at the Plaza de Toros, in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Peter, 27, has had to work hard for this match, by first having to defeat James Toney not once but twice consecutively to earn the shot as Maskaev’s mandatory, and then having to wait another five months beyond that after Maskaev injured his back, causing the cancellation of their October 6, 2007 bout.

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Should Klitschko Face Peter-Maskaev Winner Rather Than Povetkin?

wladimir33322.jpgBy John Dower: After watching the new International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) struggle against American Eddie Chambers (30-1, 16 KOs) last Saturday night in Berlin, Germany, I’m starting to re-think the wisdom of IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) of facing Povetkin when/if Wladimir defeats WBO heavyweight title holder Sultan Ibragimov next month on February 23rd. I’ve come to the conclusion that Povekin, 28, would be a mistake for Wladimir to fight, since Povetkin is clearly not ready for him, showing mostly average skills in struggling to beat Chambers, but worst of all, the fight will do nothing to enhance Klitschko’s reputation.

I see this fight going much like Wladimir’s 3rd round TKO destruction of an over-matched Ray Austin in March 2007. In fact, I think Austin might have the skills and size to beat Povetkin if they were to ever meet. A far better opponent than Povetkin, I think, would be for Klitschko to face the winner of WBC heavyweight champions Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter, a fight which takes place on March 8th. Most people safely assume that the winner of that bout with be Nigerian knockout artist Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs), who Klitschko already defeated by an exciting 12-round unanimous decision in September 2005.

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Joe Frazier: Could He Compete Against Today’s Heavyweights? Klitschko, Ibragimov, Chagaev & Maskaev

A fighter like Joe Frazier (32-4-1, 27 KOs) comes around on once in a great while. Though he was undersized as a heavyweight, standing 5’11” and weighing around 205 lbs, he always seemed to fight much bigger than his limited weight would indicate. With classic battles against Muhammed Ali, Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry, to name just a few, he showed that he had incredible power that made up for his lack of size. He did, however, have problems with certain heavyweights, losing four of five matches to George Foreman and Muhammed Ali.

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Peter vs. Maskaev On February 2nd

peter353533.jpgIn the boxing news, both World Boxing Council interim champion Samuel Peter and World Boxing Council champion Oleg Maskaev sent in their medical exams to the WBC in preparation for their February 2nd title match at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York. Vitali Klitschko, the WBC emeritus , also sent in his medical exams to the WBC, letting them know that he’s fit to compete against the winner of Maskaev-Peter. Both Klitschko and Maskaev are coming off of bank surgeries for herniated discs, which caused cancellations for each of them.

In Maskaev’s case, it bought him a little time from having to face the brawling 27 year-old Peter, who many figured to beat the aging 37 year-old Maskaev. The postponement, however, only prolonged the inevitable, though, as Maskaev still faces the tough obstacle of trying to defeat Peter, whom hasn’t lost since 2005 when he lost a narrow decision to Wladimir Klitschko. However, Peter isn’t without his faults, as was shown clearly in his last fight with journeyman Jameel McCline, a fighter who knocked Peter down three times early on and came close to beating him.

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A Prime George Foreman Against The Current Heavyweight Champions: Klitschko, Ibragimov, Peter, Maskaev and Chagaev

I’ve always wondered how a young George Foreman would have done in this a day and age against the mostly Eastern European fighters. For the sake of this discussion, I’m pitting a prime 24 year-old George Foreman against the current heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev, Samuel Peter and Oleg Maskaev. At 24, Foreman was perhaps at his peak physically, a period in which he destroyed Joe Frazier in two brutal rounds, knocking him down six times in the process.

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Oleg Maskaev vs Samuel Peter

peter4354535333.jpgDino Duva, president of Duva Boxing, the promoter of WBC no. 1 contender Samuel Peter, was very emotional about the fact that the sacred Madison Square Garden boxing ring has been retired before Peter’s October 6 World Heavyweight Title fight against Oleg Maskaev, and not after the fight. “Yesterday, I had chills the entire time during the MSG ring retirement ceremony,” said Duva.

“Anyone whose life has been boxing had to feel that way. I was always told that the plan was to retire the ring AFTER the October 6 event, meaning Samuel would be able to be the last fighter to win a world championship in this sacred ring. “It was a bush league, disrespectful manuever by Dennis Rappaport, to insist on that clause changing the size of the ring without my knowledge or approval,” added Duva. “And this was all over a one and a half foot total difference in ring size!

“Not that one and a half feet, or even ten feet, would make a difference in the outcome,” wrapped up Duva. “There will be a major victory for Samuel, but it would have been wonderful for Sam to be the last Champion in history to walk out of that ring.”

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Peter-Maskaev Undercard: Williamson vs McCline

When boxing promoter Don King could not come to acceptable terms to deliver the services of his heavyweight contender DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson to fight unretiring WBC “champion emeritus” Vitali Klitschko, he unknowingly set in motion the circumstances for another fight.

Klitschko later announced he was going to face Jameel McCline on Sept. 22 in Munich, Germany, but cancelled the match due to an apparent back surgery on Sept. 9, just five days before McCline was scheduled to leave for Germany, marking the fifth consecutive match in a row where Klitschko has been unable to participate.

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Peter vs. Maskaev

peter35353232.jpgWBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) will be making his 2nd title defense on October 6th when he meets up with Nigerian knockout slugger Samuel Peter at Madison Square Garden, in New York. Maskaev, 38, is on a 12 consecutive win streak, dating back to February 2003. Previous to that, Maskaev had been plagued by chin problems, causing him to lose a string of vicious knockout losses to hard-punching – and severely limited – Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker and Corey Sanders between 2000-2001.

After the loss to Sanders, who incidentally Maskaev was dominating at the time of his stoppage loss in the 8thy round in March 2002, he as considered damaged goods by many boxing experts, that he could no longer take a hard punch. However, instead of giving up, Maskaev took a year off from boxing and let his head recover from the knockouts, something perhaps he should have done after the first of the knockout losses to Kirk Johnson, a fight that Maskaev suffered a brutal 4th round knockout loss.

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