By Cinquez Samuel Peter (30-2, 23 KOs) came in for the Vitali Klitschko fight looking clearly overweight, and his laboured performance on the night left many observers questioning just how had been out of the ring for the last four years. Constantly looking short of breath (along with ideas, the Las Vegas – based fighter now needs an urgent re-think of strategy. Peter looked to have turned a page when defeating James Toney in the re-match (Until we factor in the small detail of Toney being a previous middleweight fighter).

However the subsequent fights with Jameel Mccline and Oleg Maskaev were both far from impressive. Before beating Mccline, he was famously dropped three times from mediocre shots, and in the Maskaev fight he was rocked by some decent shots before overcoming the 39-year-old Russian national in Mexico.

Perhaps then, the warning signs were there for Peter, but his coaches have not done their job. Peter’s boxing skills still appear rudimentary at best, his conditioning poor and his power still questionable. Whilst his knockout of Jeremy Williams was impressive, he is yet to land a knockout or even a power knock-down against any significantly ranked fighter (Including Jameel Mccline). So perhaps the much hyped Nigerian fighter has a lot more than simple relaxed muscle to improve on. Because on his previous showings, he has regressed as a fighter since he lost the points decision to Vitali’s brother, Wladimir. His only saving grace is the current situation within the Heavyweight division is so poor, he will soon get his chance again. But he needs to put sufficient time back in the gym and with his nutritionists.