Newly crowned WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) will be making his first title defense against former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko after the WBC came forward and made Vitali the mandated opponent for Peter. This is unfortunate in that nary a soul want to see Peter take on Vitali Klitschko, mostly because of his extended inactivity which accounts for three years without one bout during that time. The fight that people want to see is Peter vs. Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali’s brother, the current IBF heavyweight champion.
Samuel Peter
Should Vitali Klitschko Step Aside And Let Wladimir Fight Peter?
By Eric Thomas: With new WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter’s (30-1, 23 KOs) recent 6th round TKO over Oleg Maskaev last Saturday night, Peter is now looking for his next opponent. He doesn’t have much choice in the matter from the looks of it, because the WBC have bestowed emeritus upon former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs), which enables him to challenge for the title without having to work his way to the top of the WBC rankings like normal fighters must do.
Peter Stops Maskaev In 6th Round TKO, Is Vitali Klitschko Next?
By 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.
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.
Should Klitschko Face Peter-Maskaev Winner Rather Than Povetkin?
By 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.
Samuel Peter: Is He Still One Of The Most Feared Heavyweights?
It seems as if it only took two rounds and three knockouts to erase what World Boxing Council interim heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) had built up in 29 previous bouts as he was blasted around the ring by the journeyman Jameel McCline, causing Peter, 27, to have to struggle to pull out the 12-round decision. It wasn’t a pretty picture, as the sight of Peter being dropped time after time by the light-punching McCline opened up a lot of boxing fans’ eyes about Peter, making them question their previous assumptions about him being a nearly invincible knockout puncher.
Some one would later say that Peter’s chin had been damaged in an earlier bout, a fight with the hard-punching Wladimir Klitschko in September 2005. In that fight, Peter showed little respect for Wladimir’s power, walking in directly at him in a straight line, round after round. Wladimir, mainly fighting defensely off his back foot for most of the bout, finally let loose with a big left hook in the 12th round that badly staggered Peter. On two other occasions in the round, Wladimir stunned Peter with two big right hands, and had him well on the verge of a knockout. However, instead of going after him and finishing him off, Wladimir backed off and let the round end, playing if safe because he had the fight in the bag.
Lennox Lewis vs. The World – Klitschko, Ibragimov, Chagaev & Peter
Now that a little time has gone by since Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs) has been out of boxing, I thought it would be an interesting idea to speculate how “The Lion” would have done against today’s top heavyweight champions – Wladimir Klitschko, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev and Samuel Peter. Lewis was perhaps in his prime in 1997, around the time that he destroyed Andrew Golota in one vicious round at the Caesars Hotel & Casino, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At that time in his career, the 6″5″ 250 lb Lewis was almost indestructible, with impressive wins over Ray Mercer, Oliver McCall and Tommy Morrison already on his resume.
Although he would later lose by 5th round KO to Hasim Rahman in 2001, that was more of a blip on his career radar screen. in 1997, however, Lewis had next to no competition to speak of, as Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield appeared to want none of him, and rightly so, they would have most likely been easily defeated by this giant of a boxing legend. So, how would today’s top heavyweights do against this version of Lewis? I’ve purposely left out World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev because I don’t see him beating Samuel Peter in their scheduled March 8th bout, hence he doesn’t apply to this list. Here below I’ll discuss my thoughts on a hypothetical match up:
Peter vs. Maskaev On February 2nd
In 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.
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.
Samuel Peter: Is His Power Overrated?
After watching WBC interim heavyweight champion Samuel Peter’s (29-1, 22 KOs) last three bouts against Jameel McCline, and James Toney, I’ve concluded that he doesn’t have the monstrous power that I originally that he did after I witnessed his destruction of Jeremy Williams in December 2004, and Peter’s three knockdowns of Wladimir Klitschko in September 2005. Don’t get me wrong, he hits hard for a heavyweight, but certainly not the type of devastating power of someone like Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko or a Lennox Lewis have in their arsenal. In fact, what seems to make Peter so dangerous is his tendency to throw a large amount of rabbit punches. That alone makes him a much more effective puncher than he would be other wise.